Griffin stares down Dragons’ woes after fifth near miss

Murray Wenzel | May 7, 2023

Anthony Griffin insists his future as St George Illawarra coach isn’t a concern and his side must simply “stare it in the face and keep going” after a fifth-straight NRL loss by no more than six points.

The Dragons led Wests Tigers midway through the second half on Sunday at Suncorp Stadium but conceded a try and then lost their way with a series of unforced errors.

The Dragons had a chance to steal it in the last 90 seconds, but the Tigers defused a three-on-one in the right corner after Ben Hunt’s clever line break put them within sight.

The 18-16 loss followed defeats of six, two, one and two points in previous rounds.

They now share bottom spot with the Tigers, who have won two straight after beginning the season with seven consecutive losses.

Griffin will have to reapply if he wants to coach the side in 2024, with the board actively searching for an alternative.

“It’s about keeping going; we can take that attitude, become defeatist but that’s not going to happen,” he said when asked if the side’s run of close losses had sapped them of belief.

“We’ve got to stare it in the face and keep going.

“We could have had three or four wins over the last five weeks, but we haven’t.”

Griffin gruffly shook his head when asked if he was worried about his future at the club.

“Na, not at all,” he said.

“There’s a knife edge in it. 

“We could be sitting here in a whole different position.”

Captain and Griffin loyalist Hunt lamented unforced errors and poor decisions in another missed opportunity.

“We didn’t give ourselves a chance; we talked all week about completing high, creating pressure,” Hunt said.

“If we’re a bit smarter we could have put it away earlier than that.”

The Dragons next face North Queensland in Townsville on Saturday.