CQ NRL bid to 'Hook' Griffin

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NRL coach-in-waiting Anthony “Hook” Griffin says he will be happy to throw his hat in the ring to coach an inaugural Central Queensland NRL team.

But the former Rockhampton coach admits there is a long road ahead for the region to be successful in joining the national competition in 2013.

Griffin, the coach of the Brisbane Broncos under-20s, heads a high-profile list of coaching candidates compiled by the CQ NRL bid team.

Speaking from Brisbane on Wednesday, Griffin said CQ had already ticked some boxes to become the state’s fourth NRL team.

Griffin named the region’s breeding ground for future NRL stars and the huge rugby league fan base as just two key factors.

In fact, in Griffin’s Broncos under-20s side to play the Warriors at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night the team includes three local products in Dingo’s Ben Hunt, Capella’s Guy Ford and Rockhampton’s Brent Williams.

“It would be a terrific boost for the town and the region,” Griffin said of a possible NRL team representing CQ.

“I’ve got no doubt it would be just as good an area as what Townsville is to North Queensland.

“If and when a team eventuates I’d be more than happy to speak to the board and franchise team.

“But there’s a lot of work to be done before that happens.”

Griffin has served his apprenticeship in the coaching game after leaving Rockhampton in 1994 taking with him a mountain of success with Rockhampton Brothers.

He’s won a Queensland Cup with Redcliffe in 2006, made another grand final with Redcliffe in 2007 – the same year he coached Queensland Residents to success against their NSW opponents – and then last year took the Broncos under-20s to the inaugural Toyota Cup grand final.

Griffin, who was also assistant coach at the Melbourne Storm in 2001-02 under Chris Anderson and Mark Murray, said his goal was to coach in the world’s best rugby league competition hopefully sooner rather than later.

“I love the Broncos and I’m really enjoying working at this club but in the end I’ve never made any secret I’d love to coach first-grade and if an opportunity arose I wouldn’t be doing myself any favours if I didn’t pursue it,” he said.

CQ NRL bid project co-ordinator Jason Costigan believes Griffin has the early runs on the board and leads a high-profile list of coaching candidates to become team’s inaugural coach.

“Anthony is highly thought of by many good judges in the coaching profession and indeed the wider rugby league community, not just associated with the Broncos,” Costigan said.

“I remember him as a very ambitious coach of Rockhampton Brothers in the 1990s when I was a young TV reporter in Rockhampton and you could tell then he was not only a keen student of the game but one who aspired to coach at a very high level.

“I have followed his development as a coach with great interest and feel that with his work at Redcliffe, Souths Logan, the Storm and now the Broncos, he’s done a fair apprenticeship.

“Within the next couple of years, I personally believe Anthony would be ready to make the step up to first-grade coaching, so yes, he’d have to be in the mix for the CQ coaching job, even at this very, very early stage.”

It’s believed other potential contenders for the CQ coaching job could be former Maroons and PNG captain Adrian Lam, now assistant coach to Brad Fittler at the Sydney Roosters.

Former Origin hero and Broncos legend Kevin Walters, until this year, on the Queensland Origin coaching staff and now in charge of the Catalans Dragons in the UK Super League, could also be in the mix after missing out on the Broncos coaching job to Ivan Henjak.

Source: http://www.themorningbulletin.com.au/st ... k-griffin/