St George Illawarra have sacked head coach Anthony Griffin, pulling the pin on the veteran mentor and not offering him the chance to coach out the year.
Griffin was told by Dragons officials on Tuesday morning his time was up, paying the price for a six-match losing streak.
Ryan Carr will take over in the interim, with the Dragons assistant having previously served as an attacking coach at Parramatta.
Jason Ryles remains the primary target to take over as coach next year, with fellow former Dragon Ben Hornby another option.
Off-contract at the end of this year, Griffin had always been long odds to retain his job for 2024 after the board told him in March they were weighing up their options.
But ultimately, the run of poor performances meant he would not see out the final years of his deal.
“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,” CEO Ryan 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.”
Griffin arrived for work at the Dragons headquarters at Wollongong early on Tuesday, but drove out of the car park shortly after told of his fate.
Griffin has endured a turbulent two-and-a-half years at the helm.
The club won 22 of 57 games under him and failed to make the finals in any season, while several players complained of communication issues with the coach.
Charged with developing the club’s juniors on his arrival, Griffin regularly brought them in and out of first grade and had Tyrell Sloan and Jayden Sullivan request releases at the end of last year.
Both eventually stayed, but it was Griffin’s decision to bench halfback Sullivan for the majority of Saturday night’s 42-22 loss to North Queensland that raised eyebrows.
Dragons players fronted media before Griffin’s exit was confirmed on Tuesday and said they felt for the coach.
“This is someone’s livelihood. It’s their job, their livelihood,” forward Jack de Belin said.
“It is sad to see. It’s very sad, when anyone loses their job regardless of what field or expertise they’re in. I have a lot of sympathy in that sense.
“A lot of that is on us players. I have a lot of guilt in the sense that I could have done more and probably helped out. It is pretty sad.”
De Belin also said he could understand fan fury at the club, with bosses set to meet with members on Tuesday night.
“Dragons fans are very passionate, loud supporters and we haven’t given them the results they deserve,” de Belin said.
“It’d be very frustrating to be a Dragons supporter, no doubt.
“Looking to the future. We’ve obviously got to get some results happening and just as an overall build the club the way it should be built.”
In order to land Ryles, the Dragons will need to convince the club’s former prop to leave his job as Sydney Roosters assistant a year early and they are a more enticing option than following Craig Bellamy at Melbourne in 2025.
© AAP 2023
