If ever a play summed up a club, it’s the one where Tyrell Sloan looks to his right at a four-on-one overlap with the game on the line.
Instead of a simple draw and pass to one of his forwards, either Josh Kerr or Jaydn Su’A, to then engage winger Junior Tupou, he throws a cutout ball which forces Moses Suli to jump, prop and lose momentum. A flick pass later, the ball hitting ground and a Mikaele Ravalawa miss, and the last-placed Tigers had driven another nail into St George Illawarra’s coffin.
Easy made to look difficult.
The easy decision now is to thank coach Anthony Griffin for his service, and move on. He won’t be appointed to the job in 2024, and he’s fallen short of a pledge – in one of his first interviews after he was granted the position in 2020 – when he said he wasn’t coming for a rebuild and the Dragons would be top eight contenders straight away.
Their fans are still waiting. But on the back of five straight losses and a proud club hurtling closer to a first wooden spoon in 85 years, Griffin could remarkably still be coaching the team at the end of the season.
Until last week, St George Illawarra’s board was content for Griffin to take charge of an underperforming and underwhelming outfit for as long as it felt necessary.
Tyrell Sloan sizes up a four-on-one overlap in the Dragons’ last attacking play against the Tigers.Credit: Fox League
It may not play out that way, and certainly the last-gasp loss to cellar dwellers Wests Tigers during Magic Round might intensify the heat on the Dragons board to do something. Anything. Yet Griffin appears the least of their worries right now.
And so as the NRL team trips from one narrow loss to the next – and captain Ben Hunt lashes them as playing “dumb” – the Dragons board tries to figure out how to put one foot in front of the other finding a new coach.
The modern-day practice of coaches refusing to subject themselves to an interview process doesn’t help. Instead, they issue come-and-get-me pleas and will take the job only if they know from the start they’re the chosen one. A club essentially has to pick first, ask questions later.
Craig Bellamy could make a call any day now on whether he will go another year at the Storm, and hence Jason Ryles’ ambition should be clearer.
Shane Flanagan, Jason Ryles, Anthony Griffin and Ben Hornby.
Ryles remains an assistant to Trent Robinson at the Roosters until 2024, and would land in St George Illawarra’s lap if he’d like to, and Nick Politis allows it. His family has moved back to Wollongong after not adjusting to life in Sydney, but the question is: would he throw it all in for the stability of the Storm, should a vacancy become available?
South Sydney assistant Ben Hornby remains in the mix, and the club’s last premiership-winning captain returning to the Red V with experienced help in the front office has been discussed. It would potentially involve Shane Richardson in a general manager of football role with Nathan Brown as a recruitment boss.
Shane Flanagan’s name has been taken to the board, but the feeling is he has plenty of ground to make up in the race, notwithstanding he knows the club and many of its frustrated players from his time as an assistant to Paul McGregor, and then as recruitment head.
All the while, the NRL continues whirring and rivals sense blood in the water.
Already, the Knights have registered interest with Su’A’s camp about a switch to Newcastle. He will be able to field a formal offer from November 1.
Only the Raiders (four) have fewer players under contract than the Dragons (six) for 2025, in an era when clubs plan rosters and salary cap spending years in advance. Decisions need to be made. But the club’s general manager of football, Ben Haran, acknowledged last month the pursuit of significant signings is on hold until a new coach is found.
Griffin and the Dragons will spend this week on the Gold Coast, trying to figure out how it came to this, before flying north to take on the rejuvenated Cowboys in Townsville on Saturday night. Already several players have privately asked why they couldn’t return home for the week to be with family and then head to north Queensland.
All the while, Griffin gives the impression of a man who knows his final days at the Dragons might be a fair few rounds away yet. Asked last week if he was panicking about his future, Griffin said: “Do I look like I’m panicking?”
You can understand his response, because the easy decision is, once again, proving to be difficult.
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