Panthers hit back in battle with axed coach

ANGRY Penrith have fired back at Anthony Griffin’s claims that the club’s prestige junior program was “in terrible shape” when he arrived at the foot of the mountains.

Speaking on Fox Sports this week, Griffin said Penrith and the club had “no systems, no structures” in regard to junior development, drawing a swift and fiery rebuttal from Panthers group chief executive Brian Fletcher

“Anthony had nothing to do with the juniors,” he said. “It was all there in place before he got there.

“Hook didn’t have anything to do with junior development at all. It (his comments) was disappointing.

“He had a good job, he only had to coach the first graders. The junior development was well in hand prior to Anthony coming.

“He had nothing to do with it. Nothing at all.”

Matt Cameron has led Penrith’s successful junior program alongside Jim Jones, Sam Jones and Ben Harden.

“Matty Cameron runs all that, he runs the whole junior development program. Matt is the main bloke,” Fletcher said.

“He always has since he came here.

“Every grade has their coaches and so forth but Matt oversees that with Jimmy Jones, Sam Jones and Benny Harden. They are the lowergrade coaches. They train them, take them to the bush, they do it all.”

Griffin irritated some Penrith staff by having a dig at the junior program and claiming he helped mend the issues.

Of Penrith’s lower-grade coaches in recent years, Garth Brennan is now at the helm of the Gold Coast, Cameron Ciraldo has stepped in as Griffin’s replacement at the Panthers, while the highly rated David Tangata-Toa has just overseen a complete overhaul of North Queensland’s junior pathways as coach of the Townsville Blackhawks under-20s side.