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Gould doubles down on coach Griffin

Roar Guru
25th February, 2018
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Can Anthony Griffin withstand the pressure at Penrith? (AAP Image/Dan Peled)
Roar Guru
25th February, 2018
17
1206 Reads

In December 2015, I wrote Anthony Griffin’s appointment at the Penrith Panthers may have perhaps only been a short-term solution, a stop-gap until someone of the elite level became available.

His plucking from the obscurity of sacked NRL coaches by Phil ‘Gus’ Gould was, at the time, a bemusing selection.

The validation for the decision was justified by Griffin’s perceived ability to work with young, raw talent who were yet to solidify a place in first-grade football.

That perception crafted from taking Brisbane’s under-20s side to the National Youth Competition Final in 2008, and his work bringing those same players into first grade not long after.

Penrith, at the end of 2015, had moved on a number of mid-career players in the preceding years and were in the middle of a built-from-the-bottom-up rebuild of their roster.

So Griffin, as it seemed, was a logical choice by Panthers’ figurehead and rugby league veteran Gould.

But as the former Broncos clipboard holder’s first two seasons have unfolded on the edge of the Nepean, we have seen muddled and confusing results.

In his first season, Penrith were well in the mix; making the NRL finals after finishing the regular season sixth. The impressive displays made them premiership favourites in 2017.

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But in somewhat of a second-year syndrome, they bellowed out of the finals in 2017 after a seventh-placed finish.

Anthony Griffin

(AAP Image/Dan Peled)

While injuries plagued some of both those seasons, the same could be said for the majority of rugby league sides.

Now, on the eve of Griffin’s third season in charge and Gould’s eighth year as the maestro pulling the strings, Penrith are without arguably their two best players from the past couple of years: former captain, Matt Moylan, and representative ball-playing backrower Bryce Cartwright.

They also had to let go of evolving-forward Leilani Latu to gain the services of 31-year-old James Maloney after he spilled the beans about his six-number Keno.

Maloney is a signing that indicates a roll of the dice by Gould at gaining instant success.

Brought in to provide the experience needed alongside the gifted and sharp Nathan Cleary, the three-time grand final player is an astute pick up.

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But with two years left on Cleary’s current contract and Maloney on the wrong side of 30, it would seem there is probably just a two-year premiership window.

And if Penrith are as serious as they suggest about development, it is likely there is a player already coming through the ranks who is being readied to step into first grade and take Maloney’s position.

Nathan Cleary Penrith Panthers NRL Rugby League 2017

(Photo by Brett Hemmings/Getty Images)

This proven by Gould’s mid-year speech in 2017 that detailed the 28 players in the Panthers’ squad who had made their NRL debut there.

Gould has thrown tremendous faith in the development of young players like Dylan Edwards. Edwards is a standout junior, but has yet to realistically prove anything at first-grade level.

Indeed, it can be said Gus has even thrown his faith again in Anthony Griffin.

Without being able to go behind-the-scenes or be part of the inner sanctum, Griffin is hardly a man that emits inspiration.

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His deadpan persona depicts a man who is content to to run a strict regime to get the most out of his players.

But is that what this crop of Penrith players need? Griffin is a safe option, for sure. But is he the leader who can take them all the way?

Matt Moylan and Bryce Cartwright sure worn of his style.

He is not the young, fresh-onto-the-scene-with-hot-ideas coach like Trent Robinson, Michael Maguire and Paul Green.

All three found success very early in their tenures, but it could be argued they walked into their respective yards and found very different cattle.

So what is Griffin? A Brian Smith type who could never quite go all the way? It’s difficult to surmise.

But the opening half of this season will likely determine whether he holds his spot.

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Moylan moving-on presents a point in the Penrith rebuild under Gould that could shape the club.

But will it be a turning point for the coach’s culture or a decision that will ultimately form part of his downfall.

Penrith needed a player like James Maloney; but is likely they needed the timing, class and prowess of Matt Moylan as well.

Two of those players that Griffin was seemingly hired to solidify in first grade have now been and gone. Whatever their reasons for leaving, that’s concerning.

The Panthers enter season 2018 with Griffin in charge, but with Maguire and Des Hasler on the open market, any indication of an early season crisis could see the swift changing of the guard at the foot of the mountains.

Which way will it go?

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