Ben Hunt wants to be consulted by St George Illawarra powerbrokers on Anthony Griffin's future, with the Dragons captain a staunch defender of the under-fire coach.
Griffin's future is likely to be decided in the next month, with players aware results will determine if he is in charge next year.
St George Illawarra have Canberra, the Sydney Roosters, Canterbury and Wests Tigers in that time, with multiple losses likely to spell bad news for the off-contract Griffin.
The club have already spoken with representatives of potential replacements, keen to gauge their interest before making a call on whether to re-sign Griffin.
Jason Ryles would likely be one of the chief contenders, with fellow former Dragons Ben Hornby and Dean Young, and Shane Flanagan, likely to be other names floated at a board meeting next week.
Hunt is a vocal defender of Griffin, having played under-20s and NRL under him at Brisbane before being reunited at the Dragons in 2021 as captain and coach.
And while he had not yet been consulted, Hunt believes the board should speak to players before making a decision.
"It's something I would have thought you would be involved in," Hunt told AAP.
"As a captain and leader of the club, you would like to be approached about it. I am sure I will be though.
"Not just myself, but a number of senior players. You would think that the players that are out on the field would have some sort of say in it.
"Obviously it's not totally up to us, but you would think they would want your opinion on things."
AAP has been told former captain Cameron McInnes was not largely consulted on Paul McGregor's replacement after his exit in 2020, and was happy not to be.
Hunt said on Wednesday he would not approach the decision-makers, but regardless, the 33-year-old's views are well publicised.
He urged the club not to rush a decision in February, and said last week moving on Griffin would set the Dragons back some years.
"I will wait for them to come to me. I understand that is their job to do all that stuff," Hunt said.
"I am pretty sure they know how I feel about it, it's no secret.
"It's not just about me, I think you want to get a good group of the whole playing group, because I am sure everyone has different opinions."
Hunt also admitted he had been taking losses harder with the pressure on Griffin after two years out of the finals and a 2-3 record to start the year.
"It definitely made it harder for me, personally," Hunt said.
"I don't want change. I feel like we are going in the right direction. Those couple of losses like that definitely hurt.
"I have known from the start of the season how our first ten rounds go will determine it.
"But I am just focused on each week. In my head I know if we win more games it will take care of itself."
