100% Official Griffin for the next 2 years

[BLM01]

The test will come tonight. We will be able to see if Vaughan, Sims, Alvaro and Ellis have "hardened up" at all. We need some tough buggers though that's for sure to dominate. That's the name of the game.

Lets not worry too much about tonight and domination...blow the cobwebs for many out there is priority on both sides.
Cohesion, speed in what we do and communication is what I am looking for ATM to start to improve
Round 1 we can all start to focus on trying to get wins.

 

[BLM01]

Thanks for that.
Listening to Hook talking is so refreshing to what we’ve been subjected to from he who shall remain nameless.
On another note, I can’t stand Hadley but it’s a bonus having him on Hooks side instead of against him.

yep agree..I am warming to Hook just on the mere fact he says the right things, he is humble but sets the bar higher and he identifies the weaknesses that we have been crying about for years

 

[redv13]

Tonight would be nice but the Sharks are the main goal in 2 weeks time

 

[Crush]

Lets not worry too much about tonight and domination...blow the cobwebs for many out there is priority on both sides.
Cohesion, speed in what we do and communication is what I am looking for ATM to start to improve
Round 1 we can all start to focus on trying to get wins.

So in other words you are expecting a loss.

 

[BLM01]

So in other words you are expecting a loss.

Not sure! probably, but unfortunately our club has attuned me to expect that over the past 10 years. And bookies tell me they are superior.
The final score will mean more to me in this trial than the actual win or loss.

 

[The Villain]

I don’t care whether we win or lose. I just want us to score more points than Souths do.

 

[Crush]

I don’t care whether we win or lose. I just want us to score more points than Souths do.

 

[Saints Forever]

Another enjoyable press conference.

Griffin is a very humble and level headed leader.

Gives the players all the credit whilst making it plain that we are yet to play a full 80 minutes to an acceptable standard.

Made it plain Dufty needs to continue to improve if he is to become a top flight fullback.

Avoided the typical journo questions regarding whether Dufty and Norman should be resigned.

His message is the side is capable of significant improvement.

Hosed down growing expectations.

The absolute reverse of the peanut.

 

[getsmarty]

Another enjoyable press conference.

Griffin is a very humble and level headed leader.

Gives the players all the credit whilst making it plain that we are yet to play a full 80 minutes to an acceptable standard.

Made it plain Dufty needs to continue to improve if he is to become a top flight fullback.

Avoided the typical journo questions regarding whether Dufty and Norman should be resigned.

His message is the side is capable of significant improvement.

Hosed down growing expectations.

The absolute reverse of the peanut.

Agree 100%...I actually enjoy watching the pressers now.

 

[TruSaint]

So maybe the Dragons’ Anthony Griffin can coach

Andrew Webster
Chief Sports Writer
April 12, 2021 — 3.30pm

some blowhard, presumably sitting in the press box and inhaling party pies and complaining about the WiFi, wrote last year.


Wait. What? Oh …

Sure, it might be a little too early to be writing the “How I got it horribly wrong about Anthony Griffin” column.

It’s round five. Until the 26-12 hatchet job on Parramatta on Sunday night, his side had beaten North Queensland (14th), Manly (15th) and injury ravaged Newcastle (11th).

But that win over Parra has the Dragons in the top four, baby, so let’s acknowledge how Griffin has so far got it right.

His side isn’t so much bashing the opposition as bullying them into submission; in the middle and – unlike the previous two seasons – on the edges.

In many respects, they look like the Dragons of 2018 when the forwards were pushing each other out of the way to get the ball until injuries, State of Origin and the weight of expectation crushed them like a paper cup.

Last week, they took the whacking stick to the Knights. This week, it was Parramatta’s turn to get roughed up.

Clearly frustrated with their lack of penetration in the middle, the Eels kept shifting the ball to wingers Blake Ferguson or Maika Sivo, hoping their size and strength would be enough to find points.


Each time, three or four Dragons defenders bustled them into touch. They’d jump to their feet and celebrate like they’d just scored a try, not stopped one.

Then they’d heckle and cajole the Eels players around them, patting heads and tummies and rubbing their proverbial noses in their inability to score.

There was once a sense of entitlement about this Dragons side. Now there’s an infectious arrogance.

The thing I love most about football is how a single passage of play can neatly define why one team will win and the other won’t.

In this match, it came early in the second half after Sims had been sin-binned and Eels backrower Isaiah Papali’i scored within two tackles.


They put themselves under further pressure when they twice coughed up possession. First, Zac Lomax dropped the ball. Then Trent Merrin threw a wayward pass to nobody.

The Eels pressed into the right corner. Ferguson went down a short side, looked at Cody Ramsey and charged at the line.

Ramsey and two teammates pushed him towards the corner post, but Ferguson squeezed a pass into the field of play to Shaun Lane, who had fresh air in front of him.

Lane surged over the stripe, then over it, but was pushed back into the field of play by four scrambling, desperate Dragons defenders.


They rolled around in the play-the-ball, gave away another set restart, and then scrambled to the left where the Eels had the extra man with Sims still in the sinbin.

Mitchell Moses panicked, fired the ball out to the unmarked Sivo but it went sailing over his head and thudded into the fence.

Whether Griffin is the right coach for the Dragons in the long-term remains to be seen. Things went very sour, very quickly at the Panthers, regardless of the spin that’s been tossed up by his supporters.

But right now he’s the right coach for the new rules, employing a simple style based less on science and shapes and more on effort and attitude.

At the very least, their strong start means they can nail down a finals appearance and that is something few – this blowhard especially – predicted.


Fair play to Griffin for not rubbing anyone’s noses in it quite yet.

“It’s five rounds,” he said after the Eels win. “I don’t care where we are, where we should be or where anyone thought we should be.”

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/so-maybe-the-dragons-anthony-griffin-can-coach-20210412-p57ihq.html

 

[Willow]

"Injury ravaged Newcastle" lol

Who do you think did that to them mate?

 

[TruSaint]

"Injury ravaged Newcastle" lol

Who do you think did that to them mate?

He's covering his arse in a semi apologetic opinion piece.

Exhibit B.

Whether Griffin is the right coach for the Dragons in the long-term remains to be seen. Things went very sour, very quickly at the Panthers, regardless of the spin that’s been tossed up by his supporters.

 

[Willow]

He's covering his arse in a semi apologetic opinion piece.

Exhibit B.

Whether Griffin is the right coach for the Dragons in the long-term remains to be seen. Things went very sour, very quickly at the Panthers, regardless of the spin that’s been tossed up by his supporters.

lol. It's the supporters tossing up the spin. C'mon Andrew, your trolling is at reserve grade level.

Not hard to see what happened at Penrith. Gus rulz.

 

[redv13]

So maybe the Dragons’ Anthony Griffin can coach

Andrew Webster
Chief Sports Writer
April 12, 2021 — 3.30pm

some blowhard, presumably sitting in the press box and inhaling party pies and complaining about the WiFi, wrote last year.


Wait. What? Oh …

Sure, it might be a little too early to be writing the “How I got it horribly wrong about Anthony Griffin” column.

It’s round five. Until the 26-12 hatchet job on Parramatta on Sunday night, his side had beaten North Queensland (14th), Manly (15th) and injury ravaged Newcastle (11th).

But that win over Parra has the Dragons in the top four, baby, so let’s acknowledge how Griffin has so far got it right.

His side isn’t so much bashing the opposition as bullying them into submission; in the middle and – unlike the previous two seasons – on the edges.

In many respects, they look like the Dragons of 2018 when the forwards were pushing each other out of the way to get the ball until injuries, State of Origin and the weight of expectation crushed them like a paper cup.

Last week, they took the whacking stick to the Knights. This week, it was Parramatta’s turn to get roughed up.

Clearly frustrated with their lack of penetration in the middle, the Eels kept shifting the ball to wingers Blake Ferguson or Maika Sivo, hoping their size and strength would be enough to find points.


Each time, three or four Dragons defenders bustled them into touch. They’d jump to their feet and celebrate like they’d just scored a try, not stopped one.

Then they’d heckle and cajole the Eels players around them, patting heads and tummies and rubbing their proverbial noses in their inability to score.

There was once a sense of entitlement about this Dragons side. Now there’s an infectious arrogance.

The thing I love most about football is how a single passage of play can neatly define why one team will win and the other won’t.

In this match, it came early in the second half after Sims had been sin-binned and Eels backrower Isaiah Papali’i scored within two tackles.


They put themselves under further pressure when they twice coughed up possession. First, Zac Lomax dropped the ball. Then Trent Merrin threw a wayward pass to nobody.

The Eels pressed into the right corner. Ferguson went down a short side, looked at Cody Ramsey and charged at the line.

Ramsey and two teammates pushed him towards the corner post, but Ferguson squeezed a pass into the field of play to Shaun Lane, who had fresh air in front of him.

Lane surged over the stripe, then over it, but was pushed back into the field of play by four scrambling, desperate Dragons defenders.


They rolled around in the play-the-ball, gave away another set restart, and then scrambled to the left where the Eels had the extra man with Sims still in the sinbin.

Mitchell Moses panicked, fired the ball out to the unmarked Sivo but it went sailing over his head and thudded into the fence.

Whether Griffin is the right coach for the Dragons in the long-term remains to be seen. Things went very sour, very quickly at the Panthers, regardless of the spin that’s been tossed up by his supporters.

But right now he’s the right coach for the new rules, employing a simple style based less on science and shapes and more on effort and attitude.

At the very least, their strong start means they can nail down a finals appearance and that is something few – this blowhard especially – predicted.


Fair play to Griffin for not rubbing anyone’s noses in it quite yet.

“It’s five rounds,” he said after the Eels win. “I don’t care where we are, where we should be or where anyone thought we should be.”

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/so-maybe-the-dragons-anthony-griffin-can-coach-20210412-p57ihq.html

Let’s try again. Webster is leech who supported Mary for way too long and was critical of Saints signing Griffin. Your words mean zero you hypocrite. Can’t stand the bloke and his fluff pieces. Clear agendas this bloke. Hope Hook sticks it right up ya!!
Injury ravaged Newcastle lol!!!!! Got bashed from pillar to post without Hunt, Bird or Cam

 

[slippery5]

Griffin explaining on NRL 360 how Dufty needed to work on both sides of the ball, knowing he has great attacking skills but diffciencies in his defence at fullback & what is required in that position would have left McNoidea with a clueless headache.

 

[HenryTatana]

Certainly came across much smarter, wiser and astute as opposed to the previous clown.

 

[Saints Forever]

Griffin is backing himself to turn an underperforming and dispirited Macguire into an integral part of our forward rotation.

Low risk move assuming Josh has been signed for the right money.

Same approach taken with Bird and Macca.

Hook is backing himself to lift Macguire’s form.

Based on what he has done for the squad so far, in Hook we trust.

 

[getsmarty]

The simple coaching message that’s propelled Dragons into the top four

Anthony Griffin’s St George Illawarra resurgence has come off the back of what he labels a 75-minute mantra aimed at eradicating any hint of selfishness.

With the Dragons written off in the pre-season and with questions over his coaching ability, Griffin has the surprise packets of the NRL sitting in the top four after five rounds.

The Red V were a team hurting at the end of last year, almost guilty at times of trying too hard to play to save the popular Paul McGregor and his immediate replacement Dean Young.

But their turnaround has come after a summer of straight talking from Griffin.

Put simply, he reminded players that they have the ball for just a few moments per game, with at least 75 minutes of the match being played in defence or support play.

In turn, he has told players the moment they think of themselves in training or games they are being selfish, and letting their teammates down.

“Hook been driving it since day one of pre-season,” fullback Matt Dufty said.

“We’re 75 minutes without the ball and doing your job for your teammates.

“Even when we’re doing laps around the oval doing ridiculous kilometres he’s saying: ‘you find that extra metre and extra second in the time for your teammate, don’t worry about yourself’.

“If you’re thinking about yourself then you let your teammates down.”

The proof so far is in the pudding with the Dragons playing far more direct and less on the edges.

As is typical of Griffin-coached sides, their defence has improved significantly.

While they are missing nine more tackles per match, their scamble and cover defence has them conceding far less points at just 17 points per game.

“Everyone has really bought into it I think you can tell out there by our scramble,” Dufty said.

“Maybe last year we wouldn’t have done it but this year there’s a real focus on that.

“If someone gets beaten it’s not their fault, it’s the other people’s fault that they weren’t there to help them out.”

Players point to the way they handled the 10 minutes with 12 men against the Eels as proof of the mantra, where they had no ball but conceded just one try.

It was not previously used in Griffin’s previous coaching ventures, including Brisbane where Josh McGuire became the fourth of his former Broncos at the Dragons on Tuesday.

“It’s just about working hard,” hooker Andrew McCullogh said.

“You’ve only got the ball for that split moment so whatever you can do to benefit the team without the ball (is big).

“There are no small parts that go unnoticed inside this group.”

https://7news.com.au/sport/rugby-le..._dLruBnxaXxo9IXpRcwAP3qtSpHLwTgIPz9pzIe2DJUus

Thank you @watatank

 

[Bayside Dragon]

Why are people happy about this?
One of the uninspiring, mediocre signings we've had in our history.

There's a reason he hasn't picked up a head coaching job for a while. A complete dinosaur with no attacking philosophy.

Gees you must be feeling like a complete idiot. Feel for you, mate.

 

[TruSaint]

Renouf: No spoon for you - Dragons revival leaves me with egg on my face
Author
Steve RenoufBroncos legend
Timestamp
Thu 15 Apr 2021, 12:56 PM

Anthony Griffin deserves credit for what he has done to turn St George Illawarra around this season.

To be totally honest, I didn’t expect it.

At the start of the year when asked who would be my prediction to be the 2021 wooden spooners, I nominated the Dragons.

It goes to show you what a bad judge I am sometimes. You have to hand it to the Dragons, they are playing really well.


I’m actually enjoying watching the Dragons play footy and I didn’t think I would ever say that.

Griffin has really turned the club around and they’re playing totally different footy to what we’ve come to expect from them the last couple of years.

He has the players relaxed. You can see with some clubs – like Brisbane for example – there is so much tension in the club and it shows on game day.


Their heads drop faster, they don’t have confidence to play what is in front of them and in the end they just stick rigidly to their structure.

Something that has emerged in the first five weeks of the Telstra Premiership is that the teams who are willing to play a bit of football and play what is in front them rather than stick just to their structure are the ones having success.

Penrith are a great example of that and so too are the Titans.

The players have free rein to just play it as they see it and you can see it in the way they go about their business that the players are embracing that style.

At the Dragons it seems a bonding session over a few beers helped break the ice with the players and got them to relax.

One of the players said they’d never had that before and I thought ‘wow you guys have been missing out.’ It’s good to have a bit of old-school back in rugby league.

Griffin has brought back his own past and reunited his three former Broncos under 20s players in Ben Hunt, Corey Norman and Andrew McCullough.


With Josh McGuire joining the Dragons this week, that will be four ex-Broncos at the club.

All of them have had their critics in recent years, but certainly McCullough, Norman and Hunt seem to be playing good footy under Griffin again.

What stands out to me at the Dragons has been their defence. They are just in your face and jamming blokes.

Wayne Bennett was always big on defence. All the best coaches are. The last couple of weeks the Dragons just seem to frustrate the opposition out of the game.

To do that last week to the Eels, out there at Parramatta, was a huge statement.

The Dragons were simply relentless and Griffin has got them fired up to just go out and beat teams with their defence.

When Griffin’s time ended at Penrith there were questions about how he would go if given another chance in the NRL.

I’m actually enjoying watching the Dragons play, I didn’t think I'd ever say that.

He almost got to a grand final with the Broncos and had the Panthers on the right track when he was sacked in 2018.

Both his former clubs played in grand finals soon after Griffin left so it says something about what he can build at a football club, it just remains to be seen if he can take a team all the way.

The big question now for the Dragons is that we’ve seen them start a season like this many times before. They have been known to start well and then drop away during the season so this will be interesting.

This will be a new test for Griffin. Can he keep them up and firing? That’ll be his big challenge.

https://www.nrl.com/news/2021/04/15...ragons-revival-leaves-me-with-egg-on-my-face/