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Revealed: The sum Dragons will have to pay to get rid of Griffin
April 10, 2022 — 4.45pm
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St George Illawarra will have to pay out coach Anthony Griffin around $475,000 if they decide to terminate his contract in the coming months.
Sources with knowledge of Griffin’s contract told
The Herald that the Dragons would not have to pay out the coach’s full salary for the next season-and-a-half if they were to punt him mid-season.
The South Sydney Rabbitohs take on the St. George Dragons in Round 5 of the 2022 NRL Premiership.
The Dragons’ decision to take up an option in the coach’s contract before the season is now under scrutiny following a disappointing start to the year with one win from their first five games.
At the time, the club wanted to remove any distractions and speculation around the coach’s future, triggering the option armed with the knowledge that it wouldn’t cost them an exorbitant amount to terminate him.
WIN Corporation, the part owner of the Dragons, has deep pockets. The $475,000 payout for a coach who is one of the lowest paid in the NRL will look like small change if the Dragons continue to underperform.
Of greatest concern is the fact the Dragons have won just one of their past 13 games under Griffin. To put that into context, the under-siege Wests Tigers have won three games during the same period, while last year’s wooden-spooners, Canterbury, have won two.
The Dragons’ off-season recruitment drive left many at the club convinced they would at least challenge for a top-eight spot in Griffin’s second season in charge, but they now find themselves languishing at the bottom of the ladder with games against Newcastle and the Roosters to come.
Griffin was not the Dragons’ first choice to replace Paul McGregor. They wanted Craig Fitzgibbon, but the former Red V star, who was an assistant coach at the Roosters at the time, had already vowed he wouldn’t leave the Tricolours before the end of the 2022 season.
Former Cronulla premiership-winner Shane Flanagan was also suspended by the NRL at the time and ineligible to be a head coach, while Penrith assistant Cameron Ciraldo indicated that he wasn’t ready to leave the Panthers at the time.
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The criticism of Griffin during his tenure at the Penrith Panthers was a perceived lack of attention to detail in his coaching, which is why former general manager Phil Gould often involved himself in training sessions. Griffin’s training methods were described as outdated.
“He coached the footy out of them,” a Panthers official once said. Those remarks would be of concern for a club with some of the most naturally gifted young players in the competition on its roster.
Five-eighth Talatau Amone played with confidence and flair when he was moved into the No.6 role for the final three games of the 2021 season. He ran for a combined 262 metres in those games.
In the first three games of this season, before he was relegated to the bench, he touched the ball more times but only ran for a combined 121 metres. He looked a shadow of the player from the year before.
Tyrell Sloan is another young gun in limbo. There’s no doubt he still has plenty of room to improve, but the manner in which Griffin dealt with the situation has rattled the 19-year-old, according to those close to him.
There are other concerns growing at the club. The mocking of Griffin by centre Zac Lomax and prop Blake Lawrie during an interview with Brian Fletcher and Nathan Hindmarsh on Fox Sports recently pointed to a lack of respect for the coach.
That was also on show with the complete disregard for the coach when the players gathered at Paul Vaughan’s house for the infamous BBQ-gate scandal.
The club has given Griffin complete autonomy over the roster. One of his first signings was securing veteran rake Andrew McCullough on a three-year deal.
McCullough is a fantastic servant to the game, but he ran once for three metres against South Sydney on Saturday. The fact he still has another year remaining on his deal is a worry to many at the club.
Josh McGuire is another of Griffin’s purchases, but he won’t be getting a new deal at the end of the season.
The Dragons bought themselves a month of clear air by taking up the option. It now means nothing to disgruntled Dragons fans, especially with Griffin slumping to the worst coaching record in the history of the joint venture with a 31 per cent win rate.
