He endured a bumpy ride with Anthony Griffin, but Dragons flyer Tyrell Sloan has dismissed any suggestion that the club's young stars welcomed the demise of their former coach. Griffin was sacked by the Dragons board three days before Friday's stunning 24-22 win over the Roosters, with Sloan laying on the match-winning try for Mat Feagai with just 13 seconds left. The maiden NRL victory for interim coach Ryan Carr was a dramatic end to an emotional week in the wake of Griffin's departure, one that had appeared inevitable since the club confirmed it was looking at other coaching candidates for 2024. Griffin's decision to bench Jayden Sullivan in the club's sixth straight loss to the Cowboys a fortnight ago was reportedly the final straw for the club that's desperate to see young stars come on this season. Read more: Warilla player sent off for series of ugly high shots Sullivan and Sloan both requested releases from their deals with the Dragons at the end of last season, the latter having twice been dropped by Griffin through a forgettable campaign for the club. Having admittedly struggled to get on the same page last season, Sloan had mended his relationship with Griffin to the extent the 20-year-old was visibly emotional when asked about his former coach's dismissal following Friday's victory. "I'll be very honest, it was a very hard week for myself," Sloan said. "With what me and Hook (Griffin) have been through together, it was pretty emotional. "This year, we were on very good terms. I was starting to understand what Hook was about and what he wanted from me as a player and as a person. "He really cared for me and losing him, it is very emotional because he obviously gave me my debut and I respect everything that he's done for the club, especially for myself. "I'll pay my respect to Hook because I wouldn't be an NRL player without him giving me an opportunity. He's done a lot for the club, but looking forward now what's happened has happened. "As a club we need to move on and continue to get wins." Griffin backed Sloan as the club's fullback during the preseason when a career-threatening illness befell Cody Ramsey, with the Dapto product having featured in every game with the club this season. The pinpoint cross-field kick for Feagai's match-winner on Friday revealed why he's long earmarked him as a potential face of the club in future, but he's the first to admit the match also showed he's still looking for consistency at NRL level. "I feel like I'm a type of player that can do those things," Sloan said. "I don't reckon it's luck because I've done it before, but doing it at NRL [level] is pretty special. I was probably due for it because I was probably taking the piss the whole game. "I felt like I had a crap game, but to do that, that just sums up the week we've been through. [For the rest of the] year, we just want to keep turning up for each other. "Just to finish off there, it's something we've been working for the last six weeks. We'd lost six in a row and it feels good to get that win and finally get the bounce of the ball. "We got the win, but I was pretty filthy on myself to be honest. I was probably having a pretty bad game. To get that done, it definitely ticks the box, but I'm not getting complacent now. "Just doing that [at the end] doesn't mean anything. I feel like I've still got to earn my spot in this team." The Dragons will be looking to notch consecutive wins for the first time this season when they head to Redcliffe to take on the Dolphins on Thursday, ahead of clashes with Penrith and Souths. Read more: Lomax nails conversion after the siren to snap Dragons six-game losing streak With the latter two looking to navigate an Origin period and its toll on their star players, it's a chance to build a platform, but Sloan said Carr has made a point of staying in the moment since stepping into the top job. "With Carry we've been making it really simple," Sloan said. "I know he's only been the head coach for a week but his focus is just week by week, and then even breaking it down to just set by set. Footy's a simple game. Once you stick to the game plan and do the x's and o's, it can be so simple. "Throughout training, if we do something wrong, we'll break it down and just keep it simple. Rugby league's a simple game and we've just got to break it down. Going into games, we have that calm focus and hopefully it showed there in patches. "We went away from it in that second half and it showed in how the Roosters came back. It's the NRL for a reason, and when you've got players like Teddy (James Tedesco) and (Luke) Keary with the the things they can do, any NRL team can do that. We fell into that trap, but it was good to get a win." Our news app has had a makeover, making it faster and giving you access to even more great content. Download The Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store and Google Play
