The St George Illawarra Dragons will reportedly end the coaching stint of Anthony Griffin if they fall short against the Wests Tigers on Sunday.
Griffin has endured a torrid two and a bit years in charge of the Red V, with the club failing to make the finals in either of his first two seasons in charge.
Taking over ahead of the 2021 campaign, Griffin had the Dragons in the top eight during the first part of the season with what at one point was an eight and eight record, only for the Red V to lose their last eight games on the bounce and finish 11th on the table.
Despite the dramatic fadeout, the Dragons' board elected to take up an option in their favour for Griffin to extend his time at the Dragons into 2023 (having originally signed a two year deal with an option for the third year), leaving fans seeing red on the eve of the season.
The Dragons were slightly better in 2022, winning 12 games, but ultimately finishing four points out of the top eight in a season which saw the gap between the top sides and bottom sides grow.
Griffin's tenure has taken another swing south in 2023 though, with the Dragons losing seven of their last eight games after beating the Gold Coast Titans in their opening game of the season.
The club have lost their last four on the hop, seeing Griffin make a number of changes for Sunday afternoon's Magic Round clash with the Wests Tigers, with the coach dropping Zac Lomax and Jacob Liddle, as well as young prop Toby Couchman.
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Griffin will be left sweating on those calls working though, with Wide World of Sports' The Mole reporting that it's the last chance saloon for the under siege coach.
A loss in Brisbane on Sunday would all but end the Dragons' chances of any achievement this year on the spot, reducing their record to two and seven.
It'll leave plenty of questions at the Dragons though, with Ben Hunt previously attempting to tie his own future to Griffin's and admitting he doesn't want the former Penrith Panthers and Brisbane Broncos' coach to depart the joint venture.
Despite the star halfback's talk, he has confirmed through his management that he hasn't agitated for a release, and will shift to spend time at hooker on Sunday against the Tigers following the removal of Jacob Liddle from the best 17 despite his excellent performances this year when compared to starting hooker Moses Mbye.
Adding complexity to the situation is that the Dragons have already told Griffin he will need to reapply for his job in 2024 and have actively began scouting out new coaching options to replace the coach.
It's believed former players Jason Ryles, Ben Hornby and Dean Young are all in the mix, as are Des Hasler and Shane Flanagan, although it's not known if any of those options would be able to start this year at the Red V - only Hasler is currently out of a job, with the remaining four all serving as assistant coaches - Ryles at the Sydney Roosters, Hornby at the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Young at the North Queensland Cowboys and Flanagan at Hasler's former club, the Manly Sea Eagles.
Kick-off between the Dragons and Tigers is set for 1:50pm (AEST).