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The Dragons reportedly approached Cameron Ciraldo just before the highly sought after Panthers assistant penned a deal with the Bulldogs.
St George Illawarra approached Ciraldo but he knocked them back for the second time in three seasons and instead penned a five-year deal with the Dogs.
Despite the rejection, the move spells bad news for the club’s current coach Athony Griffin amid plenty of turmoil at the embattled club.
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Premiership-winning coach Shane Flanagan is working at the Dragons as the list manager but he’s made no secret of his desire to coach in the NRL again.
Griffin sacked his assistants Peter Gentle and Mathew Head last month, before the club also made the stunning decision to boot highly-respected former player James Graham.
This week they lowballed their best player and Dally M Medal contender Ben Hunt, offering the halfback a contract extension worth $350,000 less per season.
Griffin coached Hunt in the Broncos underage teams and is a huge fan of the classy No. 7 – who baulked at the extension offer put to him.
The recurring theme out of the Dragons is that all football decisions end with Griffin, but the lowball Hunt offer which would suggest the coach is no longer calling the shots.
Griffin was controversially extended until the end of 2023 before a ball was kicked this season, but now appears on the outer.
Griffin was signed on his reputation as a disciplinarian who could build culture and build a rick-solid defence, but hasn’t delivered on either.
St George Illawarra’s 2021 season nosedived after Paul Vaughan hosted a barbecue with almost half the squad in attendance in breach of Covid-19 lockdown protocols.
They’ve also lacked discipline on the field this season, with Francis Molo and Moses Mbye suspended for the final two rounds of the season following high tackles last weekend.
Fox League’s James Hooper reported there was “unrest” within the Red V’s playing squad back in July.
Hooper reported players had grown frustrated with Griffin’s perceived favouritism towards veterans.
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That prompted Dragons officials to publicly lament players who leaked news to the media, explaining “you don’t go whinging and moaning”.
“The players that don’t want to stick together, well they’re not part of the team,” Dragons chairman Craig Young said to News Corp.
“The expectation at this club is that when things are tough and we find a way through it, to push through it to the other side.
“You don’t go whinging and moaning, you roll your sleeves up, work hard and get through it.
“You don’t go and whinge to whoever. We all have to stick together.”
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