INCOMING Dragons coach Anthony Griffin has made his first major appointments, with the club confirming former Raiders, Penrith and Warriors head coach Matt Elliott will join the coaching staff next season.
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Peter Gentle, recently Broncos interim coach following the sacking of Anthony Seibold, will also be part of a completely new-look brains trust at the club having been head coach at Hull FC and an assistant at the Sharks, Tigers, Eels and Rabbitohs.
Elliott has coached 265 NRL games, 118 more in the Super League, but has largely worked as a commentator for ABC among other coaching ventures since being sacked by the Warriors in 2014.
Gentle has endured a tumultuous season having been thrust into the interim role at Brisbane in a dismal season for the Broncos that saw Seibold shifted on. Both also played for St George during their playing careers.
It comes after Dean Young surprised the board in not taking up an offer from Griffin to stay on as an assistant coach, instead choosing to shift to the Cowboys under Todd Payten next season.
It'll see the Dragons return for preseason after a full clean out, with club electing not to take up its option on the services of Shane Flanagan in 2021.
James Shepherd will also depart, while club premiership captain, and longtime member of former coach Paul McGregor's staff, Ben Hornby left at the end of 2019 to re-unite with Wayne Bennett at Souths. Former Dragons halfback Mat Head will return the fold alongside club great Shaun Timmins in junior pathway development roles.
Ben Haran has formally stepped into the role as general manager of football and will oversee the impending structural and personnel changes.
"Change was inevitable for our football department heading into the 2021 season following the appointment of Anthony Griffin," Haran said.
"We are pleased with the personnel that will join the Dragons in preparation for our 2021 campaign, and how they will connect under the new structure we have put in place.
"Our junior pathways system will see the introduction of the Dragons Academy which is not only crucial for next year but for many years to come."
Head and Timmins will oversee the junior representative pathways and recruitment following the introduction of the Dragons Academy.
Head act as pathways coach while Timmins will be pathways performance manager and Ian Millward will stay on as recruitment manager.
With former head of performance Nathan Pickworth also departing, Tony Guilfoyle will join the Dragons as physical performance manager having previously filled similar roles at the Panthers and Broncos, while Dan Lawson moves into the medical performance manager role.
Elliot Jackson and Cody Parsons also new additions to the performance staff in strength and conditioning and sports science respectively.