If you haven’t realised it yet Penrith fans, over the off season you guys decided to trade in a Mercedes for a used Ford Pinto.
It might be a controversial choice, but I believe Anthony Griffin is by far and away the worst coach in the NRL, even beating out professional coaching bumblers like Jason Taylor and Andrew McFadden. And the worst thing is, he replaced someone who was actually good at what he did.
Ivan Cleary started his coaching career as the Warriors coach in 2006, remaining as their coach until 2011. In that time he guided them to multiple top eight appearances including a top four finish in 2007.
He even led them to the grand final in 2011 which was his final year. Afterwards of course he left the Warriors to take up an opportunity to lead a Penrith side from 2012 onwards, a side that quite frankly had a horrible squad.
Luke Walsh and Travis Burns should never have been anywhere near the top grade, let alone partnering together in the same side, and that was just the half of that outfit’s problems.
They ended coming 15th that year, however they improved vastly until 2014 where with an improved squad and despite a glut of injuries they jumped up the ladder, finishing in the top four and making it to the preliminary finals before they were eliminated.
Then in 2015, it looked like they may have taken the premiership in the early rounds, but after being ripped apart with injuries, including at one point having an entire starting 13 of injuries, they came 11th.
Then came October 19th 2015, where Penrith made the shock announcement that Ivan Cleary was fired, with Phil Gould quoting that it was due to personal reasons, and that his head was not in the right state to coach.
A coach is never supposed to admit that a team’s season is done until it is physically impossible to make the eight – well at the very least not in public. But that is what he did, saying in the later stages of the 2015 season in an interview that the season was over when his side could still make the eight.
I am sure that caused issues, so maybe you can justify his sacking, maybe. But what you can’t justify is who they replaced him with.
Anthony Griffin is a sham. He had one year where the Broncos did well, which was mainly due to Darren Lockyer and the emotion of the players around him trying to make him win another premiership in his last year, but since then has underachieved and disappointed fans for years.
It is no coincidence that the second he is fired, essentially the same team he had goes from sneaking into the eight in 2014 to losing the grand final in golden point in 2015. I live in Brisbane, so I know a lot of Broncos fans and so many of them were happy when Wayne Bennett was appointed, not just because Bennett was coming back but because Griffin was leaving. And those same fans were laughing when Griffin was appointed as the Panther coach. I can see why they were.
Just look at the specifics of what he did as the Brisbane coach. He brought the world fabulous ideas such as Josh Hoffman (a man who has a one to one ratio of passes performed to tries scored) in the halves, Corey Parker at prop, Ben Barba in the halves, Matt Gillett at five-eighth, Justin Hodges at fullback and picked a past it Scott Prince over Corey Norman consistently.
Heck Jarrod Wallace is on record saying that he lost all of his confidence under Griffin, with him on numerous occasions picking him and not actually playing him. And with the amount of rubbish he put Corey Norman through I swear he was trying to murder his career.
Now I am just going to say this, I think the Penrith side is nowhere near as good as some people think. Reagan Campbell-Gillard is the most overhyped forward in the game. I see people comparing him to Jake Trbojevic, sometimes even favourably. He isn’t a bad player but if you think he is even close to J. Turbo you have rocks in your head.
Moylan is also overrated, barely in the top five fullbacks in the game, but he is still a good player. A lot of these Penrith players are good, but not as good as people say that are, at least in my opinion. Having said that, if they don’t make the eight then it is all the fault of their coach.
It seems Griffin has decided to pick up from where he left off and do his best to destroy the careers of promising young players and make his team as bad as possible.
In his short time as coach so far, he has left destruction in his wake. The biggest impact coming from when he decided to send Jamie Soward packing to England so that Bryce Cartwright and Nathan Cleary could be in the halves together.
Now if you have a choice of having a rookie half and a veteran half as your halves pairing, or a rookie half and a second rower as your halves combination what would you chose? Well if you are Griffin, you chose the second option, sending your experienced half overseas so you are stuck with what you picked.
Yes, given Griffin’s history of shocking halves choices it was only a matter of time before he did something like this, and his victim this time is Bryce Cartwright, a very promising edge forward. So what has this done to Cartwright? Well it has turned Bryce Cartwright, the exciting ball runner who was improving each week, into someone that thinks he needs to do everything.
Now he just crabs across the field, throws more risky offloads and gets exploited in defence even more than normal. He seems to think that now he is in the spine he has to come up with the big plays, and that is hurting his attack so much.
I think the fact that they won their first two games with that halves pairing was the worst thing that could happen to Penrith, because now Cartwright will be there all year, and us fans will only be able to watch in horror as we witness his regression.
And it isn’t just this that makes me think he is the worst coach in the game, this year the Penrith attack has looked clueless close to the line, their defence has been disgustingly bad and his bench rotation makes Andrew Mcfadden’s look amazing.
Take their last game against Parramatta as a prime example of these factors. Parramatta were playing with no halves (no Jeff Robson doesn’t count) and in the first half they scored four tries. All of them looked far too easy, because they all were.
They made a rookie fullback playing out of position look like a superstar half. Imagine if Corey Norman was playing. The Penrith defence doesn’t communicate at all, with some players rushing up while others slide, and they always seem to stack defenders on one side of the field which just caused huge problems if the opposition just spreads the ball slightly.
Then when Penrith had all the field position in the second half there were so many dropped balls and poor ends to sets in attacking zones it was insane. It is almost like they have the Dragons’s goal-line offensive coach. And as for the bench, Zak Hardaker got a grand total of 0 minutes.
Why? Why the hell would you pick a player and not use him? Penrith only won that game because of Parramatta injuries during it, and it was against a side that had already lost its halves, best forward and best winger before the game.
Recently Peachey was suspended for not showing up to training while James Segeyaro was sent to England because he didn’t respect Anthony Griffin.
If I was a Penrith fan I would get ready as things like this to continue occurring. Griffin is out of his depth here. He makes mediocrity look attractive with his horrible coaching record. I have no idea why Gus Gould decided to hire him. Mary McGregor has deservedly been under focus this year with people highlighting his inability to coach attack into his side. But at least he can coach a defence into a side. Griffin can’t even do that, so why isn’t he attracting nearly as much heat?
You do have to hand it to Griffin though. He has turned another promising team into an utter mess within 18 rounds, normally it takes people 18 months to do this.
It has only been 19 weeks of his first season, but it has been enough time to rule that the Griffin experiment has been a failure. But there is good news here for Penrith fans, because I believe the likelihood of Griffin actually seeing out his three-year coaching deal are about as strong as the likelihood that Newcastle will win the premiership this year.
Jack
Guest
This article rings truer than ever right now. Well written. As a Broncos fan I am thrilled he is nowhere near us anymore.
Keith Sheldon
Roar Guru
I didn't expect them to stage a comeback. Not at all. I don't think they would have come back because they were winning, then got a bunch of injuries, then started losing. It isn't a hard concept. Heck look at what happened on Saturday, the Panthers used a similar tactic against the Raiders and were hopeless for 60 minutes. It wasn't until it was essentially over that they started looking dangerous, which can be attributed to the Raiders taking their foot off the pedal. Because tell me, enlighten me how in the world is never kicking in the opposition 20 a good idea? Like, I mustn't understand it on a fundamental level or something, because it is literally one of the dumbest strategies I have seen in a long time. Yeah players debut on the bench, that happens. It isn't a coaching masterstroke literally every team debuts bench players. But talking of bench players, wanna guess how many minutes Moses Leota played on the weekend? The answer was 0. He had a guy play no minutes in a finals game, a finals game where you could tell forwards were getting tired by the end of it. Heck JFH was struggling by the end their and put out any flame of a comeback the Panthers had. And he did similar stuff to this in Brisbane. So then the question is, why purchase Hardaker in the first place? He came here to play first grade, but he didn't come here to play off the bench presumably. So why even purchase him? What was the point of him coming over? No, I will say it doesn't count because Geyer was only there for the last two games of the season. No team has played most of a season with a centre on the bench. Also that is one team in the last 10 years, and that team was over the cap anyway. Also, don't compare SoO to regular NRL, it is a different beast. Bellamy is one of the worst SoO coaches ever despite being one of the best NRL coaches of all time. It is a completely different thing. And besides, Matt Bowen was on the Queensland bench when they sucked. He stopped getting picked there in game 2 2005, and 2005 was marked 3 years of losing for the Queenslanders. I am not talking about the injury in 2011, I am talking about the seasons after he left (from 2012-2014). The Broncos had a great side on paper whilst he was in control of it, but the second Lockyer left they slid down the table, started struggling to make the 8/missing it and underachieved, with a lot of their wins occurring because the side fell apart near the end of a game. But to answer your question, Billy Slater was very important to the Melbourne structure, and they have done fine losing him for basically 2 seasons. And it isn't like those two sides were only missing just one player, half of their teams were gone. If the Cowboys were only down Thurston or the Storm were only down one of Cronk or Smith they would have beat the Dragons. The Broncos lost one five-eighth. I..... you just hurt my head. You saying 'he isn't overrated, he is only being compared to Lockyer because he has similar skills' contradicts itself. You are putting him in the same ballpark as Lockyer, which is ridiculous. And now you go about comparing Fisher-Harris to Tallis. I can't even. And you can say 'I only mean skill wise, not talent wise' but the problem with that argument is that maybe you mean that, but most people don't. But to give another example of how he is overrated, people think him and Tedesco are close skill wise. Moylan might be good, but Tedesco is the best young player in the game. Penrith had a rough start and came good. But imagine, just imagine, if you kept Cleary, didn't have that rough period and finished the year threatening to take the top 4 spot off of the Cowboys? Wouldn't that have been better? And also, imagine if the Panthers went into the Raiders game with an attacking plan that made a modicum of sense? And my problem with the Cartwright isn't that he is there, it is that they got rid of an actual half to put him there. You had Soward there, who can actually kick and can organize defence unlike Cartwright. But no, let's put a second rower there and watch as a bunch of points are scored down his side. And let's sit there and marvel about how he throws crap offloads and tries to force a play every time he gets the ball near the tryline, normally stifling momentum or handing the ball over. And I do acknowledge he has gone a lot better their than I expected him to. I underrated how well he could defend. Happy? If the Panthers enter a GF with Griffin as a coach, I will eat a shoe. It is just, not going to happen because Griffin is out of his depth. His selections are dumb, his bench use is awful and his tactics don't work. When Penrith look their best, they play completely unstructured like they don't actually have anyone coaching them. Probably because the person coaching them is dumb.
Paul
Guest
At risk of this going back and forth forever..... I don't claim Akauola's injury equals the Dog injuries, in fact I don't consider the Dog injuries at all. Neither does any Dog fan I've spoken to or any other pundit, journo, form of media, whatever, only you. The better side won that game regardless of any excuses you offer up. The Dog attack has been poor for a long time. In a recent game they even produced a set dubbed "the worst set of six ever." With this in mind you now claim they're some sort of crack commando attacking unit capable producing a big comeback in mere minutes. Their style of forward led attack is out-dated and requires an upgrade. If you want to use Akauola's to support your argument on bench management at least be honest and offer the facts. He was concussed and could only play 9mins. Okay he played 9 mins against the Titans. He also played 36 v Manly, 32 v Knights, 28 v Warriors. Paint the true picture. Akauola started the year slowly, Griffin previously stating that in his first few games "he didn't get it right" then he began to make an impact. Fisher-Harris started the year from the bench, a game in reserves, back to the bench, slowly built his game time and now starts and plays 80. The bench can be good tool to blood young players, especially if the makeup of the team allows it. Most would have found Hardaker's inclusion on the bench a strange one. It's against the norm. But the Penrith squad allows it. He covers 1-5 and with Moylan (6), Peachey(9) & Wallace(7) all key positions are covered. Moving Yeo to a backline that already includes 2 guys who regularly play back-row isn't any better. Hardaker is by all accounts moving on, he came out here to do a job not play reserve grade, so good luck to him. The answer to your quick quiz. Melbourne had Matt Geyer on the bench in '07, you'll probably claim this doesn't count as the title was stripped. Queensland have often carried a back on the bench and it hasn't hurt them. Matt Bowen probably fits the Hardaker bill best. To suggest Lockyer getting injured and Brisbane crumbling is a true sign of Griffin's ability is more of the same one-sided view. Apply this argument elsewhere, no Thurston, no Smith no Cronk, how would those sides perform? Saints were poor this year but played Nth Qld and Melbourne without their star players and guess what the Green and Bellamy coached sides lost. Lockyer is an all-time great of course his loss will have a huge impact. Comparing Moylan to Lockyer doesn't make him overrated. It hasn't been suggested that he will surpass Lockyer, just that he reminds people of a young Lockyer. He doesn't look unlike him, he plays fullback with a 5/8ths skillset, has plenty of ability and most believe will transition to the halves. It seems fair. Fisher-Harris has been compared to a young Tallis or Mark Geyer. He's a fiery, aggressive forward with similar traits. No mention of being better. For right or wrong people like to look back. Most of these kids have been successful at junior level and in order to progress have to be rated as having something special, especially coming from such a huge nursery. Many are earmarked to have big futures. Not all progress as planned. Recent player polls would suggest the Penrith squad is nowhere near overrated. They barely rate a mention. Like many I questioned the Griffin appointment, it seemed harsh on Cleary and an unlikely choice. But Gould sees something there. After his first season in charge it's hard to fault his performance. He inherited a squad and coaching staff of which he had zero input. He made big calls moving players on and showed his strength in developing young talent. Towards seasons end they became more consistent. His elevation of Cartwright to a halves pairing with Cleary is seen by you as a disaster, but no one believes this to be permanent. Garth Brennan and Ivan Cleary have both used him there in the past so it's nothing new. If you were fair minded you would acknowledge the success of the Wallace to hooker experiment, but you don't. You criticise his disciplining of Peachey for tardiness while most applaud it. That speaks volumes of a club willing to drop a vital player to maintain high standards. You even say they look un-coached. The club which spent a fortune on state of the art training facilities doesn't actually train their players? Why, because they don't run the same stale old plays and wrestle a lot? The Holden cup side play the same attractive brand of footy, that would suggest the coaching goes a lot deeper than you give credit. While Saturday was a disappointing finale, most would judge it a successful season. Next year Hook is bringing in his own coaching staff and signings and will surely be aiming for the essential top 4 finish. But somehow I get the feeling if the Panthers produce a big season next year you will still offer the same old excuses as you discredit his achievements.
Keith Sheldon
Roar Guru
No not really.
Chowie
Guest
You must feel a bit silly right now
Keith Sheldon
Roar Guru
You know the bench management thing isn't just limited to their last game right? Against the Titans in round 25 Akauloa got 9 minutes. And are you trying to claim that the one concussion is equal to the injury decimation that the Bulldogs received? A forward that has on more than one occasion been used for about 10 minutes having to go off a minute early is not the same as losing 3/4th of your spine to injury or concussion tests. And you say they carry Hardaker for an injury in the backs, yet they have Yeo in their side who can (and often does) move into centre mid game when Peachy feels like having a spell in the second row. Do they really need to carry a back on the bench when Yeo can cover that anyway? Also quick question, can you name a side that has won a Grand Final with a back on the bench? Seriously can you? Because I can't. They always have utilities or just 4 forwards. Here is the thing, Griffin has made it this far into the finals before, heck he was a game away from the GF in 2011. But within a few years the side will be underachieving and underperforming just like Brisbane's was. And he did have Lockyer in that 2011 run. You can go 'oh that's a cop out' but the team just crumbled once Lockyer was gone. The difference between Green and Griffin is that Green got people like Tamou and O'Niell to fire again, Griffin did the opposite. It is no co-incidence that half the Broncos team had a 'career revival' when Bennett came in. Also, I have said this an another article but the term overrated doesn't mean bad. I think Moylan is a wonderful player, but people compare him to Lockyer which is just gross and wrong. Therefore, he is overrated. Same applies to a lot of these Penrith players.
Paul
Guest
Pretty harsh assessment of Penrith's effort against the Doggies. To be down by no more than 6 pts and only 2 at halftime really doesn't indicate a side being dominated. To anyone watching, except for yourself, the tide began to turn before halftime. Completion rates were about 90% for both teams, so the quality was fairly high. The second half was all Penrith and they had already ripped them apart when Morris came off. The game was over when Reynolds was replaced. As for your argument on the use of replacements, Penrith have Merrin, Yeo and Fisher-Harris who all play 80 odd minutes. It's amazing Akauola managed to play 9 minutes, he was concussed in his first hit up and once replaced not allowed to return. You highlight the Doggies injuries but ignore Penrith's and try to sell it off as poor bench management. I'm confused about your Hardaker point. is the problem that he only played 11 minutes or that he's a fullback. Should he replace the "overrated" Moylan? It's obvious by now that Hardaker is there in the event of a backline injury. The poor use of the bench didn't appear to leave the side gassed, they still looked full of running. The Dogs chose to play big unfit forwards. Penrith chose to keep the ball in play and tire them out. Originally Griffin and the Penrith players were overrated, now the players are that good they're carrying Griffin! For a young inexperienced team they are performing wonderfully well and Griffin does deserve credit. To say he had Lockyer at Brisbane or now he suddenly has the most naturally talented team in the comp (not the most overrated?) is easy to apply to any successful side. To say Sheens had Meninga, Stuart, Daley or Bennett had an Origin team, Green has Thurston, is a bit of cop out. Credit where credit is due. The "far and away worst coach in the NRL" is doing a wonderful job.
Keith Sheldon
Roar Guru
It was all MIlford was it? Did the improved defence of the whole side have nothing to do with it? Did the sudden form increase that players like Kahu, Glenn, Thaiday, Gillett, Hunt, Mccullough, Wallace and Reed experienced the second Wayne came back also have nothing to do with it? Seriously, look at the way the guy uses his bench. Hardaker (who is a fullback on the bench) got 11 minutes and Akauola got 9 minutes of playtime. Penrith were struggling until Borris and Jeynolds left the field. Cause you know injuries is what won them that game right? The reason the Bulldogs got so tired was cause they were down to a 2 man bench for 40 minutes, and when your side is as big as theirs is you struggle to cope. He coaches the most naturally talented team in the comp. And they only got 11th last year cause they had over half their side out for most of the year. He is being carried by his team harder than he was in 2011.
Keith Sheldon
Roar Guru
You if you think Griffin is the cause of Penrith's results. They haven't played any of the top 5 teams since I wrote this article as well, so if they do that, call me. This side is carrying Griffin.
Mark
Guest
I am a Broncos fan, thanks Keith! Anthony Milford (recruited by Hook) (working with Ben Hunt) was the main reason why Broncos made it to the GF (no disrespect to the other players or coach, of course, but he was the difference). What does Hook have to do to win you over? He coaches the youngest team EVER in the NRL, in his debut season at the Panthers, they went from 11th (2015) to 6th on the ladder, have made it to semi finals (and still going), and YOU still think he is a lemon!!
Terry
Guest
Who is the lemon now !!!
Keith Sheldon
Roar Guru
Did I hurt your feelings with my correct opinions? If you think this is rubbish, make a counterpoint. But you can't. You just point at recent results and say 'lol' without even analyzing said results. This Penrith team is winning despite their coach.
Keith Sheldon
Roar Guru
Ummmmmm, you don't seem to understand what Roar is do you? I am not a journalist, nor have I ever claimed to be. I am just a guy who wrote a thing because I believe it, and I still do believe it. Griffin is fabulously mediocre. His bench usage is tripe, his 'Bryce Cartwright in the halves' idea is only working cause Cleary is a freak of a player and his team play like they aren't even being coached. And wow, he has a good record against Wayne Bennett. It is almost like he worked under him and for a large portion of time and therefore is in the best position to counter Wayne's gameplans. If Griffin is so good, then how in the world did the Broncos go from just missing the 8 one year to making the top 4 the second he left? If Griffin is so good, explain the genius behind letting three first grade standard halves go in the same year and replacing them with no one. Ask literally any Broncos fan, they will agree with me.
Keith Sheldon
Roar Guru
I am feeling the same. Penrith haven't come up against much opposition recently and even in their win against the Bulldogs they were being outclassed until half the Dogs got injured. Look at the man's bench usage, it is shockingly horrendous.
Jack
Guest
Couldn't agree more with you Mike. This goose obviously has no idea about Rugby League. The Roar must be hard up for reporters to be letting him write such rubbish under their banner.
Mike
Guest
Sorry Keith couldn't find your coaching credentials ( limited to a Google search). Journalistic credentials were also limited. Good journalists research their topics, apparently! Why don't you ask the players rather than write an opinionated piece of rubbish based on your own limited coaching knowledge. They are the ones being coached. I'm not sure if Ben Hunt, Josh McGuire, even Nathan Cleary would agree with you. Hook's a country boy and can spot a uneducated moron in the second row of a press conference from a mile away. You obviously don't know him! Maybe he offended you for asking a stupid question. Everybody knows (including Wayne) who did the ground work for the Broncs GF appearance in 2015. Hook has a 10:1 NRL winning ratio against Wayne. Maybe this is just a coincidence? Please promise to write an apology to him when the panthers lift the shield in the next 3 years. Maybe introduce yourself at a press conference (although I suspect you will be too embarrassed too!)
Jack
Guest
I think you should keep to reporting the latest bingo results from the local sports club instead of pretending to know anything about the NRL. That may be more your level.
Dermot
Guest
How are you feeling right now you twit?
Jack
Guest
What about now. Since round 11 they have had 2 byes lost 7 and won 2. Is this because of the coach or is super Wayne not to blame. Is it all the players now? Wake up. The only reason Brisbane got to the grand final last year was because of what Anthony Griffin had built at the club. He is now building a great young team at the Panthers for many years of success to come. Remember, success takes leadership, planning and time. Something Wayne Bennett has no time for. He knows he has limited time left coaching and is trying to buy a premiership. E.G sack Barber, Copley etc.
Keith Sheldon
Roar Guru
People thought the Broncos were back in form after they beat the Rabbitohs easily. One game does not make form.