St George Illawarra have sacked coach Anthony Griffin, effective immediately.
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Griffin has been under a mountain of pressure since the club informed him in March that he would need to reapply for his job and that it will be considering other candidates.
It put him at long odds to keep his job beyond this season, but there had been suggestions he could still see out the season.
However, a sixth straight loss at the hands of the Cowboys on Saturday, and Griffin's baffling to bench young half Jayden Sullivan forced the board's hand.
Assistant coach Ryan Carr will take over as interim coach and took charge of his first session on Tuesday.
"These decisions are never taken lightly and on behalf of the club I want to thank Anthony for all his hard work during his time at the Dragons," CEO Ryan Webb said.
"These decisions are never taken lightly and on behalf of the club I want to thank Anthony for all his hard work during his time at the Dragons."
The club met with George Mimis, the manager of both Jason Ryles and Ben Hornby, as it ramps up its search for it's next head coach.
The pair of former Dragons are the favourites to take on the role, though Dean Young, Shane Flanagan and Des Hasler have been mooted as possible contenders.
Griffin was seen leaving WIN Stadium early on Tuesday, with players and staff were summoned to a 10am meeting to hear the news.
In a baffling development, the announcement came less than an hour after players Jack de Belin and Ben Murdoch Masila were put up for media without being made aware of the call.
De Belin said the players must wear their share of responsibility for Griffin's demise.
"As players we control that fate and we haven't done a good enough job," de Belin said.
"At the end of the day it's a results driven business and we just haven't got the results for him, so it's disappointing on our end.
"The results haven't been there. I feel like the effort and the right attitude has, but the results haven't been. It's disappointing, he's definitely old school but I've really enjoyed my time under him.
"This is someone's livelihood. It's very sad to see when anyone loses their job, regardless of what field or expertise they're in.
"I have a lot of sympathy [for him] in that sense and a lot of that is on us players. I have a lot of guilt in the sense that I could have done more and probably helped [him] out, so it is pretty sad."
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Mitch Jennings
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
