39 words.
That's all that Dragons head coach Anthony Griffin could muster up following an embarrassing performance against local rivals Cronulla on Sunday night.
With his job seemingly on the line and the chances of a contract extension dwindling by the day, Griffin was in no mood to talk after a 40-8 loss to the Sharks in front of their home fans at Kogarah Oval.
After scoring two tries in the first-half and placing themselves in a good position at the break, St George Illawarra were absolutely abysmal in the remaining 40 minutes, leaking five unanswered tries.
MORE: Who will replace Anthony Griffin as Dragons coach?
“It was disappointing," Griffin said.
"The first-half, I didn’t think we were quite there all night, but we got ourselves in the game. The second-half, they were just way too good and we weren’t good enough.
“Yeah it is [a concern]…obviously."
Griffin was told by club officials earlier in the week that he would have to reapply for his job, with the struggling Red V searching for other coaching options for 2024 and beyond.
Dragons captain Ben Hunt admitted he would have liked the coaching situation to remain in-house, but wasn't making any excuses for his side's dismal display.
“It’s not gonna go away now," he said.
"Preferably, like everything, it would stay in house but it doesn’t happen in rugby league.
“We’ve got to play some good footy, that’s all it comes down to. He’s not the one out on the field out there, it’s us and we’re the ones missing the tackles.
“As soon as we came out from half-time, we made an error straight away and they capitalised. To be honest, they were just too good for us – they ran harder and tackled harder and we couldn’t go with them.
“I thought it was very embarrassing – I don’t think there will be a guy on our side that can put their hand up and say they played well.
"To dish that up in front of your home fans is not good enough."
Will Anthony Griffin be sacked as Dragons coach?
At this stage, there has been no indication from the club regarding Anthony Griffin's immediate future as head coach.
However, given the recent developments regarding his contract status and the disappointing results from the past two weeks, Griffin's long-term future is unlikely to see him remain Wollongong.
Who will replace Anthony Griffin as Dragons coach?
There has been no official word regarding who will coach St George Illawarra for 2024 and beyond.
Des Hasler, Dean Young and Jason Ryles have all emerged as potential candidates for the top job, with the Dragons expected to begin the appointment process in the coming weeks.
