St George Illawarra have held a preliminary meeting with the agent of three potential coaching candidates for the Dragons job in 2024.
With the Dragons’ top job still up for grabs for next year, and incumbent coach Anthony Griffin reapplying for his job through performances, the Dragons have opened a line of communication with one of the NRL’s leading agents, George Mimis.
Mimis represents the man largely considered the frontrunner for the job, Sydney Roosters assistant coach and former Dragons front-rower Jason Ryles, as well as former Dragons premiership-winning captain Ben Hornby.
Another coach in the Mimis stable is two-time premiership-winning coach Des Hasler, who Phil Gould said was the right fit for the Dragons when discussing the issue on Nine’s 100% Footy on Monday night.
Sources with knowledge of discussions, talking on the condition of anonymity due to the confidential nature of conversations, told the Herald that the Dragons did not enquire about one particular coach but were keen to gauge whether Mimis’ clients would be interested in interviewing for the job.
The Dragons have not met with any coaches. The club indicated to Mimis that they would spend the next month assessing the performance of the team under Griffin before determining a course of action.
Jason Ryles during his days with Eddie Jones at England rugby.Credit: Getty
With the Dragons falling short against the Titans on the Gold Coast on Sunday, the team has just two wins from their first five games of the season despite a friendly draw to open 2023.
St George Illawarra play the Raiders, Roosters, Bulldogs and Wests Tigers over the next month – squaring off against one current top-eight team during that period.
While the draw is friendly to coach Griffin, losses to some of the lesser teams in the competition will almost guarantee the club moves in a different direction in 2024.
Ryles’ coaching resume includes working as an assistant to Craig Bellamy at the Melbourne Storm, an education under Eddie Jones with the English rugby union team and now a stint as Trent Robinson’s right-hand man at the Roosters.
Anthony Griffin will need to dust off his resume if he wants to keep his job at the Dragons.Credit: Getty
He remains contracted to the Roosters as an assistant for next year. Any move, whether it be the Dragons or the likely vacant Melbourne Storm job, would be a result of a transparent process between Ryles and the Tricolours.
Hornby has also served an apprenticeship at the Dragons under Paul McGregor, before moving on to South Sydney where he has worked with Wayne Bennett and Jason Demetriou.
The Herald understands Hornby is keen to meet with the club about taking on the role next year. The other coach Mimis represents is Hasler, who was last year sacked from his post at Manly in what was his second acrimonious departure from the Northern Beaches club.
While there doesn’t appear to be a huge appetite for Hasler to take over from Anthony Griffin, his experience makes him a potential option as a coaching director for a rookie coach.
Skipper Ben Hunt has made it clear his preference is for Griffin to remain.
“If we get four or five weeks down the road and we start again [with a new coach], it will set this club back a couple of years,” Hunt told the Herald over the weekend. “That’s what I believe. We need to ride this out.”
