Anthony Griffin, who looks set to take the Panthers to their third-straight finals appearance for just the third time in the club’s history, is reportedly being moved on in 2019. Talk about a slow news day.
Let’s just start by looking at this objectively.
The Panthers currently sit in fourth place and rank the fourth-best defensive team in the competition.
In 2018, Dylan Edwards, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Waqa Blake, Josh Mansour, Nathan Cleary, Tim Browne, Peter Wallace, Sam McKendry, Viliame Kikau, Moses Leota and Reagan Campbell-Gillard have all spent extended periods on the sideline.
As a result, Penrith currently field the most inexperienced side out of those currently sitting in the top four, with 1244 games shared between the 17 who played against Manly last week, for an average of 73.
By contrast, the Dragons boasted 1858 games of first-grade experience from their squad named against Parramatta. Melbourne and South Sydney were only fractionally less experienced, with a combined total of 1792 and 1736 games respectively.
Earlier this year, accomplished winger Mansour signed a three-year extension with the club. Just last week, young forward Kaide Ellis signed on for another two years, while boom front rower Campbell-Gillard committed to the Panthers for a further five seasons.
The point of all this?
Would you really expect a player, and in particular a representative forward like Campbell-Gillard, to sign a five-year extension with the Panthers if there was any uncertainty surrounding the future of its coaching staff?
Would any other coach be able to establish their squad as a premiership contender with the injury crisis that has crippled the Panthers in 2018?
And the fact that the club is conducting a mid-season review? Well that must mean that Griffin is in danger, right?
It’s not like reviews are stock-standard procedure at not only every other NRL side, but in any professional organisation that wants to make sure it is the best it can be.
If I was Paul Green or Brad Arthur, I would be shaking in my boots if there was a realistic chance of Griffin being let go by Penrith at the season’s end.
Both entered 2018 with high expectations of top-four finishes, with many pundits anticipating a possible premiership for Green’s Cowboys. 16 rounds into this year’s competition and both sides occupy the two lowest positions on the ladder.
If the media couldn’t think of anything to write about, surely the uncertainty surrounding either of these two coaches would be a far more realistic and plausible option than the one currently doing the rounds.
One of Griffin’s greatest strengths has been his ability to get the most out of Penrith’s youthful roster. And this has not just been in 2018. Over the past two years, the former Brisbane mentor has overseen the debuts of several players developed within the club.
Watene-Zelezniak, Blake, Isaah Yeo and Campbell-Gillard all featured in the Panthers’ 2013 NYC premiership-winning team, while Cleary, Edwards, Tyrone May, Corey Harawira-Naera, James Fisher-Harris, Leota and Sione Katoa all starred in their successful 2015 NYC campaign.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
His tenure at the team has also coincided with some of the club’s toughest on-field decisions, ones that ultimately needed to made to transform Penrith into a true premiership threat.
Griffin backed Edwards and Cleary over previous fan favourites, Jamie Soward and Matt Moylan, proving that he had earned the respect within the playing group needed to make such strong stances.
Cameron Ciraldo has been reported as Griffin’s likely successor and he certainly has a connection with the young squad, having coached the Penrith NYC team from 2015 to 2016.
However, it is questionable whether he would have the courage to make such calls given his lack of experience coaching at the top level.
The Penrith Panthers have been a team with enormous potential for too long. 2018 is the year that they need to prove themselves to be genuine title contenders.
Whether Griffin is the man to lead them to the last week of September is unknown at the moment.
What is known, however, is that he is destined to guide the injury-hit Panthers to their third-consecutive finals series for the first time since 1991.
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