Hook puts talents to work for Waratahs

AXED NRL coach Anthony Griffin has found a new role helping the rival code, bobbing up as a surprise consultant for the NSW Waratahs.

Coach Daryl Gibson has turned to Griffin to help with his side’s attack ahead of the 2019 Super Rugby season and already the former Penrith and Brisbane mentor is proving a hit.

Sacked by the Panthers a month before this year’s NRL finals, Griffin jumped at the chance to run a half-hour session with the Waratahs backs in Sydney.

“He was really good. It’s just different ideas and different ways of doing things,” attack coach Chris Whitaker said.

“We asked him to come in and do a couple of simple little plays we’ve been doing and obviously the rugby league guys spend a lot of time running lines and running options and that’s why they’re so good at it.

“It was quite a simple session but the boys took so much out of it, especially me and Daryl. He’s given us a lot of ideas, that’s for sure.”

So impressive was he that Griffin’s casual consultancy won’t be a one-off as the Waratahs look to build on last year’s run to the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, master kicking coach Dave Alred, the man who honed the superboot of Jonny Wilkinson, is being targeted for a key role at the Queensland Reds.

If the Reds can pull off the Alred coup it would complete the major upgrade of coaching acumen at the club for next year’s Super Rugby season.

Head coach Brad Thorn has already beefed up his supporting cast with former Wallabies’ attack coach Jim McKay and defensive taskmaster Peter Ryan. Alred is an acclaimed performance coach because his wisdom most recently crossed sporting boundaries to help Italian golfer Francesco Molinari win the British Open.

Kicking practice with consequences and performing under pressure are both touchstones in his methods.