St George Illawarra coach Anthony Griffin has become the first NRL coach sacked in 2023.
Dragons chairman Andrew Lancaster informed Griffin of the club’s decision in Wollongong on Tuesday morning.
All players and staff have been called to a 10am meeting.
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In a bizarre decision the Dragons had also organised for eight Red V players to front the media at 8.30am at the club’s Wollongong headquarters.
So while Red V chairman Lancaster informed Griffin of the decision at 8am – the players were then forced to front up and face questions they had no answers for.
St George Illawarra captain Ben Hunt was understandably fuming at the way the club has handled the situation.
There’s no way the strong NRL clubs with sharp front offices allow those types of scenes to unfold.
It tells the story of where the Dragons are at as a club right now.
Griffin was seen leaving training after being summoned to the board meeting where he recieved the news he will depart the club he has coached for the last three seasons.
He coached the Dragons to 22 wins and 35 losses from 57 games for a win percentage of 38.60.
“The Dragons Board has elected to end the tenure of head coach Anthony Griffin, effective immediately,” the club confirmed in a statement.
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“Dragons CEO Ryan Webb thanked Griffin for his contribution to the club over the past two-and-a-half seasons.
“These decisions are never taken lightly and on behalf of the club I want to thank Anthony for all his hard work during his time at the Dragons,” Webb said.
“Unfortunately our performances over the first 10 games of this season have not met the club’s expectations so it was decided he should finish up his duties this week.”
“Dragons assistant coach Ryan Carr will assume interim coaching duties of the NRL side from this week while the club board and management will continue assessing head coaching candidates for the 2024 season.”
Dragons forward Jack de Belin, who fronted the media on Tuesday morning, said the players let Griffin down.
“At the end of the day, it’s a results driven business and we just haven’t got the results for him, so that’s disappointing on our end,” he said.
Jason Ryles is the frontrunner to replace Griffin from 2024.
