League lover Cheika linked to NRL head coaching gig after guiding Argentina at Rugby World Cup

Former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika could be a shock contender for St George Illawarra’s soon-to-be vacant head coaching role.

An associate of Cheika’s has reached out to Dragons chief executive Ryan Webb as the club looks to gauge the market before deciding on a coach for 2024, according to a NewsCorp report.

Cheika coached Lebanon at the Rugby League World Cup at the end of last year and has long held interest in the 13-player code.

He has liaised with Roosters coach Trent Robinson at club training sessions and is currently coaching Argentina’s rugby side in the lead-up to the World Cup later this year.

Dragons coach Anthony Griffin is set to be told his services are no longer required past the end of his contract this season. He may quit beforehand after the team slumped to another loss on Saturday night.

Blake Lawrie says St George Illawarra’s players will continue to fight for Griffin as they look to arrest a six-match losing streak.

A 42-22 defeat at the hands of North Queensland on Saturday was the Dragons’ biggest loss in a slump stretching back to round six.

Despite the mounting pressure threatening Griffin’s future at the helm, Lawrie insisted the players remain right behind their embattled coach.

Former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images,)

“One thousand per cent,” the forward told AAP. “We’ve got a good group here. We’ve had six losses in a row but we can’t do anything about the past, we can only change the future.

“(Griffin) cares for all of us. He wants to win as much as everybody else and takes a lot of responsibility. 

“He’s done a hell of a job and hasn’t changed the way he approaches anything in any way, shape or form. So credit to him.”

Before Saturday’s defeat, the Dragons had lost their previous five matches by a combined total of 13 points.

Those narrow margins have left the Red V languishing with a 2-8 record, second-last on the ladder and with difficult fixtures against the Sydney Roosters, the Dolphins, Penrith and South Sydney to come over the next four weeks. 

Lawrie said his side must be willing to do more for each other if they are to end their horror run. “If we do that we will get results, because we are putting in a lot of effort. You can’t fault it but it’s still not good enough, results are not going our way. 

“We need to keep fighting, keep being persistent and hopefully things will turn.”

Griffin has described the speculation over his tenure as “the brutality of the business”.

Sydney Roosters assistant coach Jason Ryles, Ben Hornby and Dean Young have all been touted as potential successors at the Red V.

South Sydney coach Jason Demetriou believes assistant John Morris has been undersold in the head-coaching debate as speculation intensifies about Anthony Griffin’s position in charge of St George Illawarra.

Hornby captained the Red V to their only premiership as a joint venture in 2010 and worked on their NRL coaching staff before joining the Rabbitohs as an assistant for the 2020 season.

Demetriou endorsed Hornby as a strong candidate for a head-coaching job but backed Morris in as well.

“Both of them are outstanding candidates and I think would do a great job as a head coach, and probably should be in the frame for head coaching jobs more than they are,” Demetriou said.

“I’m lucky to have two really good assistants that could be head coaches in their own right. I rely on those guys a lot and they help me out a heap.”

Off contract with Souths at the end of this year, Morris was Cronulla’s head coach from 2019 until his dismissal early in the 2021 season.

John Morris (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

On his arrival, he inherited a young Sharks roster and blooded such players as Will Kennedy, Blayke Brailey, Briton Nikora, Toby Rudolf and Ronaldo Mulitalo – all of whom have become regular first-graders in a Cronulla side that finished second on the ladder last year.

Morris took the young Sharks to the finals in both of his seasons in charge despite playing each with a $353,000 salary cap disadvantage incurred for breaches that predated his head-coaching tenure.

He was sacked in April of 2021 to make way for highly-rated Roosters assistant Craig Fitzgibbon, a move that ended Morris’ 11-year association with Cronulla and received widespread media criticism.

“The way that ended doesn’t help (his coaching chances),” Demetriou said. “But people forget he took them to finals, had a lot of changeover in the roster and some salary cap restraints.

“He did a fantastic job in tough circumstances. Even the growth he’s had since he’s been here has been outstanding.”