Former Broncos and Panthers coach Anthony Griffin leads the race for the Dragons head coach.
The Sydney Morning Heraldreports that Griffin, the “early leader,” is at the top of a shortlist presented to the board of directors to initiate the formal interview process.
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And notably, his rival Dean Young supports the 53-year-old.
According to the HeraldInterim coach Young, who is also keen on the job, gave the club a “glowing endorsement” from Griffin.
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The two spent time as assistant coaches with the Tongan International team last year.
If Griffin lands the gig, the club wants Young to stay as their assistant, but Shane Flanagan will likely leave.
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The rooster assistant Craig Fitzgibbon and the knight assistant David Furner are also talking about the role. However, it is well known and accepted that Fitzgibbon will not cancel his contract a year earlier.
According to reports, the dragons represented three areas on which to base their selection: defense, discipline, and the history of building a successful culture.
Griffin is a match for all three.
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The ultimate disciplinarian is known to expect a certain level of professionalism from his players. He has an overall win rate of 55.5% (53.5% for Brisbane and 58.3% for Penrith).
The Broncos played in three series finals of the four seasons he spent at the club before making way for Wayne Bennett’s homecoming in 2014.
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Phil Gould picked Griffin up to replace Ivan Cleary with the Panthers in 2016, only to crush him on the eve of the 2018 finals when Penrith sat in fourth place to eventually allow Cleary to return.
During his time at the foot of the mountains, Griffin took the Panthers to two consecutive series of finals and was scheduled to play in their third before he was shown the door. He was so impressed that he signed a two-year contract extension at the end of the 2017 season and left with one of the best records of any outgoing coach in the NRL era.
Since leaving, Griffin has struggled to get a role as head coach. He was under discussion for the Jobs Warriors and Bulldogs but was beaten by Nathan Brown and Trent Barrett.
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