Griffin denies Fifita talk as Hunt says Shark would be ‘good addition’ for Dragons
By Adam Pengilly
March 25, 2021 — 7.45pm
Anthony Griffin has denied speaking to Andrew Fifita when the Dragons and Sharks met in the opening round of the NRL season as Ben Hunt threw his support behind the club if they opted to pursue the out-of-favour forward.
St George Illawarra coach Griffin has pledged to be patient in the player market as the Dragons pursue another middle forward, but was coy on the details about the club’s interest in Fifita.
Fifita hasn’t been included in John Morris’ top 17 at the Sharks for the third straight week, prompting speculation he would be open to a switch to Cronulla’s arch rivals to revive his NRL career. He still has another year on his Sharks deal beyond 2021.
Asked whether he spoke to Fifita before Cronulla beat the Dragons at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium a fortnight ago, Griffin said: “He didn’t speak to me.
“Every time someone gets unhappy they’re coming here. We want players to come here and play and we need to improve our identity and attraction to other players. We’ve got a really good signing in [Cowboys prop] Frank Molo, which will be for next year.
“That type of [speculation] is going to come up all the time.
“The market is still moving and you’d be surprised how many people that are on the market, even though they’re under contract. But we’ll be patient and make sure whoever we bring in is in the best interests of our team, our club and our culture.”
But the potential move has been strongly endorsed by Griffin’s captain Hunt, who wound back the clock to produce one of his best performances in the Red V during the Dragons’ upset win over North Queensland last week.
“I see it as a pretty good addition for the club if that’s the route they want to take,” Hunt said. “I think he adds something a bit different to us. He’s big, mobile and has a great offload that can create second phase play. With how fast the game is at the moment I think that’s something that could help us.”
The Dragons still have two spots left on their roster and will be monitoring Fifita when he turns up for Newtown in their NSW Cup clash against Parramatta on Saturday.
Griffin insisted he hasn’t been satisfied with his team’s performance in their opening two matches despite a wave of optimism sweeping over the club following a gutsy win against the Cowboys.
The Dragons defended resolutely in the final quarter to seal a 25-18 win and can make it back-to-back wins for the first time since August last year if they beat the winless Sea Eagles at WIN Stadium on Friday night.
Having worn his fair share of criticism since arriving at the Dragons, Hunt has now watched his Queensland teammate and Manly No.7 Daly Cherry-Evans in the gun for his slow start to the season. And he was quick to leap to the defence of his school football rival.
“I don’t think you can throw him under the bus because of those two losses,” Hunt said. “He’s a very hungry player and I think he leads their team really well.
“We’ve known each other for a long time and there’s always been a bit of a rivalry there, but away from footy I’m good mates with ‘Chez’. We catch up a fair bit and I enjoy playing against him.”
Said Griffin: “They’ve got the Australian halfback who has had some questions asked about him this week, he’ll be at his best.
“Knowing Manly and the way they’re coached, they’re at their best when their backs are against the wall, so to speak. I’m not happy with what we’ve done the last two weeks regardless of the win, we’ve got an enormous amount of improvement in us.”
Cherry-Evans was on Thursday named as Cameron Smith’s replacement as the general president of the Rugby League Players Association.
“I’m looking to help out the team at the RLPA and voice any matters that the players feel they need to get across,” Cherry-Evans said. “The RLPA has certainly grown a lot in recent times but I still think the best work is ahead for us.”
Manly have lost their last seven clashes against the Dragons at WIN Stadium stretching back to 2005.
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/gr...ood-addition-for-dragons-20210325-p57e2t.html
