St George Illawarra close ranks following sacking of Anthony Griffin

Griffin's papers were marked the moment he was told by the club board that it would be considering other candidates beyond this year, though it had hoped some on-field success could relegate it to the background.

It hasn't been the case, with six straight losses forcing the board's hand on Tuesday, with interim coach Ryan Carr put in place ahead of Friday's clash with the Roosters.

Read more: Dragons sack Anthony Griffin, appoint Ryan Carr as interim coach

It was an inevitable move with back-rower Ben Murdoch-Masila admitting on Tuesday that "a bit of outside noise has crept into camp" with his side in a slump.

Griffin's axing marks the third time a coach has been marched ahead of time since veteran lock Jack de Belin debuted for the club in 2011. While he's no stranger to the pressure cooker, it's a first for the club's young crop.

It also comes as the club faces a tough stretch of games, with Friday's clash with the indifferent Roosters followed by tough road games against the Dolphins and Panthers before returning to Kogarah to take on the Rabbitohs.

It will only see the scrutiny heightened, but de Belin said it's "part and parcel" of the job.

"The advice I give to young boys is to get off social media and don't read any press about yourself, good or bad," de Belin said.

"Personally, I don't have any social media, I don't read the papers, so I'm pretty lucky in that sense, I'm a bit shielded from it. I think with young boys growing up in the technology world, always having a screen in your face, it would be definitely hard to escape it.

"It probably would take a little effect and weigh on you a little bit. In a sense playing NRL is overwhelming, and all the parts that come with that, the media, the expectations.

"It can be full on, but that's a part of the job and you've got to be built for these high pressure situations."

There's been no shortage of mooted contenders for the role in the wake of Griffin's sacking, though reports suggest it's narrowed to a field of three in club greats Ben Hornby, Dean Young and Jason Ryles.

The latter remains the hot favourite, with Roosters coach Trent Robinson saying he wouldn't stand in Ryles way provided the decision on 2024 comes early enough.

One suggested candidate, Shane Flanagan, told 2GB on Wednesday that he hasn't been contacted by anyone from the Dragons, nor has he approached the club.

"I'm comfortable where I'm at and if someone wants me to coach their NRL side I'll do it, but at this stage it's definitely not St George Illawarra," Flanagan said.

Read more: How Anthony Griffin sealed his own Dragons fate

While a decision is said to be mere weeks away, club chairman Andrew Lancaster told fans at a members forum on Tuesday night that it won't come at the expense of "due diligence."

"It's about identifying someone that is not going to be there just for a couple of years, [but] someone who is going to be there for the short, medium and long-term success," Lancaster said.

"It would be great to have the same coach in 10 years time. That is the aim. Being rushed into making that decision is not what we are about."

It also emerged on Wednesday that Lancaster has had an informal discussion with former Panthers and Rabbitohs football boss Shane Richardson about a potential head of football role.

"We had a preliminary conversation and that's what it was," Richardson told News Corp.

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