Recently sacked Penrith Panthers coach Anthony Griffin has spilled the beans on his sacking from the Penrith Panthers that shocked the rugby league world this week.
The 51-year-old known as Hook has referred to Penrith boss Phil Gould and his involvement in the biggest story in rugby league.
Anthony Griffin on #NRL360
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Griffin hasn't had the opportunity to tell his side of the story, and let loose in the interview.
Hook was asked why he decided to face the music and speak to the public.
MORE: Anthony Griffin sacking: Phil Gould preferred Penrith Panthers coach saw out 2018 NRL season
"I understand the business of the NRL, and it's not the fact that I parted company with Penrith," Griffin told NRL 360.
"It's the spin that's been put on the reasons for that decision. From a family point of view, it's a hard time for them, so I thought it was important that I came and spoke.
"I sat there and thought about what I achieved at Penrith today, and I'm very proud of the achievements of the club over the last three years. I was put there to do a job, and I've done that job.
"We can talk about that later. There's a lot of good people at Penrith who have played their roles over the last few years, it's not just about me."
Griffin spoke about his beginning at the foot of the mountains, and why he was chosen to take the reigns of the club.
"Obviously I was brought there to develop a club with a big junior base, that's how I first met Phil Gould at my days at the Broncos.
"He came up when he took over as general manager. From there, fast-forwarding to when the job came up at Penrith, Phil contacted me and I came down and had a look.
"Straight away I could see the real potential. I was very grateful to Phil for the faith he put in me.
"When I came down, they were struggling. They had a lot of juniors but no systems or structures. They had no staff or resources applied to turning those players into NRL players. There's a big difference to having juniors and having NRL players."
There is a perception that Phil Gould has taken the Panthers to new heights with his own superior footy brain with Griffin not receiving the praise he deserved.
The former Panthers coach agreed.
"Phil's played his part, but from the time I met him in Brisbane, if he'd been at work it hadn't been productive work when developing a club with a huge junior base.
"That's what I was brought there to do, and for me as a coach, that's what I enjoy doing.
"There's no question that I did that, we've had 16 debutants over the past three years."
One of the reasons that Gould have for firing Griffin was because he was old school, taking on the coaching without wanting help from anyone else.
"I've got my own methods," Griffin said.
"I've been in the business now for six or seven years, and part of being a coach is having a belief in yourself and your strengths.
"But, I wouldn't be sitting here today if I didn't know what I was doing.
"I take Gould's comments with a grain of salt. My relationship with Gus was very good at the start and he's got a brilliant football brain.
"One of the main reasons I did come down was to work with him.
"The biggest breakdown, and there's obviously been a breakdown, and you can spin it as much as you like.
"Gus has got his opinion, and I understand how brutal this game is.
"Our relationship broke down on coaching philosophy. I'm a strong personality, he's a strong personality. the suggestion that I didn't involve staff is totally untrue.
"But, the biggest issue that we had and why I'm not coaching anymore, is that we had a difference in philosophy on how the team showed be coached.
"My philosophy goes back to the whole build of a club. Gus hasn't coached for 20 years, I'm not here to disrespect him, he hasn't had his head in the fire for 20 years.
"If there's anyone old school, it's Gus."
There is speculation that Griffin didn't have the support of the coaching staff, something that Gould believed he assured Griffin wasn't true.
"If you put yourself in Gus' position when you've decided to remove your coach four weeks out from a playoff series when you're bordering on the top-four, there's got to be a serious reason for that.
"I had a problem last year with Matt Moylan, that's half my fault I contributed to that. This year we've had a really strong year.
"I've been in football a long time, and I know when a dressing room is lost. But, I know I've got the respect of the players."
At the beginning of the year, Matt Moylan moved to Cronulla in a swap that sent James Maloney to the Panthers. There was chatter among the NRL community that it was solely Griffin's relationship with Moylan that cost Penrith a star.
"It's something that I'm not proud of, how it worked out with Matt. I was happy to cop it for that. When I arrived, I thought it was important that we had a younger captain that could take us through those years.
"At the time, I sat and watched at training and Matt was someone that I thought showed really good leadership qualities.
"His leadership in the first year in 2016 was really good, he went onto play for Australia and NSW, and led Penrith to the second week of finals.
"The next year, for whatever reason, the relationship deteriorated which led to him going to Cronulla.
"Gus was really strong with me during the Matt Moylan period and we worked together on the trade to get Maloney. The stress of that, probably led to Gus and my relationship becoming stressed, which led to other things about our football program that we butted heads on.
"We had different views on how the team was progressing, and how it needed to progress, and our relationship deteriorated from that point."
Griffin revealed that he had been contacted by many of the Penrith players since his axing.
"It's been overwhelming to be honest, sometimes you don't say the things to each other that you want to say, and I've been really blessed to have so many young players to work with that are really good people," Griffin said.
"When I look back on my time, I describe it as very successful. I did my job.
"Gus said something about going to the next level, we were at the next level.
"We've gone from playing off for the wooden spoon to sixth, sixth and now real premiership contenders."
Griffin went into deal about his soured relationship with Gus.
"Clearly, we don't get on, and I'm not saying that to disrespect Phil, it's the reason I'm sitting in this chair tonight and not coaching," Griffin said.
There was talk of a heated exchange between the pair during pre-season when Penrith lost to a B-Grade Canterbury side, but Griffin didn't believe it was much.
"There wasn't a fight. We played the game and ended up going down against a second-grade side, which was Gus' angst.
"Personally, to me it was just a trial. At halftime I was walking to the sheds, I can't remember the context but he appeared out of nowhere and was barking to me.
"I smiled because I didn't really think he was serious. I just kept walking and went up the top, someone in the sheds obviously saw it and reported it to the paper, which Gus then told reporters that it didn't happen.
"There was a build up at the beginning of the year, and it all came down to coaching philosophy. Gus has got a great football brain, and I've learnt a lot off him.
"But, we lost Nathan Cleary against the Bulldogs, went up and beat the Cowboys in one of our best performances of the year, and it's always hard to go to Townsville and come back again because it's a long trip.
"We came back and had to play Parramatta who were winless at the time, and the local derby is always a big game. You could feel the Eels were coming for us, they had 60 per cent of possession, but we .won, and it was a great win.
"Gus' version was very different to that. We clashed again on philosophy, he thought it was a disgusting performance, and that we hadn't brought our kids up to be grinders.
"We clashed off and on. I'm not proud of the way it ended up either, I played my part in that. I've got my own values and I've been brought up a way where I don't mind standing up for myself.
"That's why the clash went for so long and was so heated. It was like two bulls going head-to-head.
"It wouldn't be unusual for us to go a month or six weeks without sitting down and having a chat about the team we had to operate.
"When I first came in, to the club's credit, they said, 'show us what we need to do.'
"I made a contribution where I thought the club needed to go, and I was given pretty much free reign for a period across the entire football department.
"Gus and I worked really close together and I really enjoyed that period."
It has also been reported that Griffin butted-heads with other coaching staff, something that he refuted.
"I get on with Cameron Ciraldo, I can get on with people professionally, I'm not someone that holds a grudge," Griffin said.
"I understand the man management and you can't get on with everyone, every single minute of that day, but you've got to manage how that functions.
"Cameron was in a difficult situation in that Gus wasn't communicating to me and he started using the other staff to get his messages through. Cameron was his mark there.
"It puts a strain on everyone's relationship when you have your general manager acting in that way within your football club."
Griffin was asked whether he had to address the players in the midst of the relationship breakdown with Gould.
"We never addressed it with the players, and that's something I'm content with that I never let it affect my role. I never felt a need to discuss it with the players.
"What I would say is that Gus and I have different philosophies. I thought we were ahead of schedule, I really did. When you look at the age of our list and the injuries we've had this year, I thought we were ahead of schedule.
"Whether it's jealousy, that's only something Gus could answer."
The media has been torn to shreds by certain members of the Penrith Panthers setup regarding supposed 'false reporting'. Considering much of what was reported by journalists was right on the money, did Griffin believe the club was doing the wrong thing?
"I'd answer that this way, and I'm not trying to pull your chain, but I don't read the papers," Griffin said.
"Darren Lockyer gave me that tip.
"People think I joke about that, but I don't. If I'm going to react to everything that's in the paper, that's not going to help the players."
Ivan Cleary has been linked with the Panthers coaching gig ever since Griffin was sacked, and the former Penrith coach thinks that would be a great get for the club.
"Gus runs the club, it's his club. Again I say that will all due respect. Now that I'm not there, it's probably a breath of fresh air from that end in that I don't think there would be too much happening without his input," Griffin said.
"He's a very powerful man, he needs to be in control. I'm not involved in board meetings, but I can tell you that he runs the club.
"I think Ivan Cleary going back to the Panthers would be good because he's a really good guy, a good coach. I don't know how that dovetails in with the general manager again.
"It obviously would then unequivocally allow them to keep Nathan, which I think is important for the club forward."
When did Griffin actually know that his time was up at Penrith?
"When we beat Manly the week before, I had a sense that things weren't right," Griffin said.
"The silence gets deafening when you're on the outer, but I didn't anticipate that it was going to be Monday.
"I thought we'd sort it out at the end of the year, one way or another.
"I knew it was going to happen, I thought that the timing was pretty cruel.
"The timing cuts me the hardest, and to spin that there's a player problem when the players have dug in and given so much."
Griffin summed up the interview with some touching words for his former club.
"If I could just say one thing," Griffin ended.
"I really wish the Panthers all the best, I think that there's some really good days ahead for that club.
"For the players and the staff out there, I'd love nothing more than for them to win a trophy this year.
"As hard as it would be to watch, I wish them all the best."
For our wrap up of one of the league's greatest conspiracies, see below.
GRIFFIN SACKED: Just four weeks out from finals, Penrith Panthers show coach the door.
IVAN CLEARY TO REPLACE GRIFFIN: Will Ivan join his son at the foot of the mountains.
LURKER COMMENT: You know you’re in trouble when league fans turn on you and start trusting journalists for the truth.
WHY HAS GRIFFIN SACKED: Behind the scenes, you understand why it needed to be done now.
GOULD'S FIRST STATEMENT: The Panthers boss has revealed all.
WILL BENNETT TAKE OVER?: From Brisbane to Penrith.
BULLDOG'S BITE: An offer from Penrith would allow Cleary to do what he wants to do most in rugby league.
WESTS TIGERS RESPOND: Boss Justin Pascoe says Ivan Cleary won't be granted a release to join the Penrith Panthers.
CLEARY TALKS TO WESTS TIGERS: Cleary raises the possibility of eventually joining Panthers.
JOSH REYNOLDS RESPONDS: Departure would impact club.
NRL LURKER FINDS FALSE RUMOURS: Lurky knows all.
GOULD'S TOUGH CHOICE: The Panthers sit fifth on the table with games against Gold Coast, Newcastle, Warriors and Storm to come.
GOULD'S SHOCK REVELATION: Griffin should have stayed on remained of 2018 season.
