Maroons great Billy Slater says Anthony Griffin's history with Ben Hunt at the Broncos will be hugely beneficial to the Dragons in 2021.
Griffin's appointment as St George-Illawarra Dragons coach has come under scrutiny from sections of the NRL with his tenure at Penrith coming under the microscope.
Speaking on Wide World of Sports' Billy's Breakdown, the Storm legend rated Griffin's hire as a positive one, suggesting his winning percentage as an NRL head coach rates admirably against the top tier mentors in the game.
And Griffin's experience working with Hunt through the grades at the Broncos is a huge advantage, according to Slater.
"Griffin was Hunt's Under-20s coach for a couple of seasons. He played 45 games under him at that level and then 92 NRL games with him at the Brisbane Broncos," Slater said.
"That was between 2011 and 2014. In 2014 Ben Hunt was in such good form he played for Australia. I think that relationship can blossom and I think he may go back to the No.7 jersey."
There were reports the Dragons were looking to offload Hunt to Brisbane but Slater said they need to show confidence in the playmaker by investing around him.
"You have a look at Andrew Johns' appointment at Parramatta and how those halves have come on," he added.
"Also Luke Keary's development playing alongside Cooper Cronk. I think a mentor system for Ben Hunt working on game management and selection of plays will certainly help his cause."
With the exit of a couple of influential players the new Dragons coach will have some money to bolster their roster, Slater pointed out.
"It's a big off-season for the Dragons. They've got a bit of a purse to enter the open market; no Tyson Frizell, no Euan Aitken, so that frees up a bit of salary space," he said.
"I know Christian Welch is off contract at the Melbourne Storm he might be someone to bolster their front-row stocks."
from WWOS https://ift.tt/33h1QmS
No comments:
Post a Comment