Dragons announce Anthony Griffin as new head coach

Anthony Griffin will be St George Illawarra's next coach after beating out Dean Young and David Furner for the top job at the Dragons.

The Red V confirmed on Monday night Griffin would replace Paul McGregor in a full-time capacity, taking the reins from next season on a two-year deal.

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The announcement marks Griffin's first full return to coaching since being sacked by Penrith midway through 2018.

His appointment came with the support of both the WIN and St George sides of the board, with unanimous backing required for any head coach selection.

"Anthony is an experienced operator with a proven track record across his previous seven seasons as a head coach," CEO Ryan Webb said.

"Anthony has missed finals football only once which speaks to the strong discipline and ability to develop young talent of which he has exhibited both throughout his career.

"The next steps for the Dragons are now determining the correct framework and structures to put around Anthony and the football department to ensure his tenure as coach is a successful one."

Griffin’s defensive record crucial in appointment

The early frontrunner for the role, Griffin wowed the Dragons in a lengthy Zoom interview last Wednesday.

His defensive record as a coach is believed to have been crucial to that.

With the Dragons having fallen away defensively in the past two seasons, a heavy emphasis was put on that area of the game.

Griffin has a 55.5 per cent winning record as a coach, but has crucially never had a team concede an average of more than 20 points a game in one season.

The bigger question marks have surrounded his attack, with the common knock on his time at Penrith being that they weren't allowed to play expansive football.

However, Griffin has experience working with two of the Dragons' most important attacking weapons in Ben Hunt and Corey Norman, having brought them both through the grades at Brisbane.

"There is no doubt that St George Illawarra is one of the biggest and proudest clubs in the game and I'm excited to commence my role as coach later in the year," Griffin said.

"While results may not have gone in the club's favour in recent years, I see many a positive in the playing squad and the current crop of juniors currently coming through the ranks."

Meanwhile it remains to be seen if Young will stay on as an assistant, however, he has worked alongside Griffin as part of the Tongan set up.