Griffen retired

[Leon]

I came to Australia in 2014. Started following the Dogs at the start of the 2015 season. Might as well thank me for the flag as well.

Thank you - I really really appreciate it!


Could you go back overseas and then come back to Australia and start supporting us for the next 6-7 years by any chance?

 

[Leon]

That happened right in front of my seat. Amazing stuff.

Same, although not in front - we were in the opposite forward pocket.

You could almost hear their bodies collide, and when Caleb kicked that goal, everyone went bananas.

**** me, what a night that was.

 

[Leon]

He never looked anywhere near same player at the Giants, just after the prelim siren two years ago you can see him laughing with one of the bulldogs players.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

I’ve got no doubt that it would have killed him in 2016 watching us win the flag.

 

[Braybrook Son]

I picked it on Saturday night. Told my housemate, he’ll retire after tonight! Great player, gave us some great service and helped get GWS back in the game in the 2nd quarter Saturday night, unlike Jeremy Cameron who does nothing in finals! Congratulations on a decent career, shame he couldn’t stay for our flag.

 

[ringa5]

Congratulations on a great career.
Always be known as a great finals player.

 

[AFDogs]

People have forgiven him because he was s**t at GWS

This.

If they tore us to pieces, and he played AA standard footy we would all be hating him even further. His footy died off, because mentally 2014 changed him. There's no doubt about that.

I have mixed feelings about him. Retiring a bit too young and I have no doubt if he stayed with us, and under Bevo, he would have thrived and would still be playing.

 

[Timewillcome]

Our performance 2012-2014 can only be matched by the Rhode years. Saying the club was a basket case was an understatement. Going to the footy during this time was an ordeal, only helped by having this bloke playing.

Ended badly, should have been handled better by all, but on the plus side he was finished anyway with his back being stuffed and he could go an live a low profile life at GWS.

Mentioned earlier that the trainers were talking about managing his back injury, it was actually reported in the media at the time, they seem to never have really fixed it as he was average at best for them.

I rate the Brian Lake departure worse. He devalued himself to such an extent we got virtually nothing for him (sorry Nathan). An AA who would later play in 3 flags as KPD and win a norm smith and we got pick 21 and change. He then miraculously gets fit and finds form once he left. He sinks in the boots every chance he gets. His last 2 years were a joke, sat on his hands being too 'injured' to play, then spitting it in his last season when the club wanted to develop a replacement and play him at FF.

Damage was done with Griff, he could hardly come back in even when McCartney was gone, even if he wanted to. Got Macca fired, people should be loving him just for that alone.

 

[Dogs_R_Us]

Events since have confirmed he was justified in thinking McCartney was trash, but plotting to leave the club rather than go about galvanising it was so poor from a captain.

The mental toll the whole thing took on him was palpable when he had one of the worst games of his career against us the following year.

One of the most interesting figures in footy imo, given what transpired in 2014-16 and would love to see him on Open Mike.

I don't know that he plotted. I think it would have gone along the lines of going to Gordon (which would have been difficult enough) and getting through what he wanted to say, Gordon going "There there, it'll be ok" and Griff realising nothing would change and couldn't face any more. Prob went home, phoned Cameron, spilled his guts and Cameron said "Right, you're coming to us, I'll fix it."

I won't forget that BnF speech he made. It was probably the shortest speech in history, he looked totally miserable, and Gia then appealed to the senior players to "get behind Griff and support him".

 

[scooter600x]

McCartney was sacked a day or so after the Griffen trade from memory

No, McCartney was sacked the day after Griffen said he wanted out. The trade happened weeks later after Griffen went pig shooting

 

[Snarls Barkley]

Timeline was:

Monday October 6 - Trade period starts
Thursday October 9 - Griffen requests trade
Friday October 10 - McCartney resigns/sacked
Monday October 13 - Boyd requests trade
Wednesday October 15 - Griffen/Boyd trade happens
Thursday October 16 - Trade period ends

 

[Mattdougie]

Lol plotting to leave the club????

Some of you people are so blindly bias it’s beyond a joke.

 

[immortalmike]

Ah revisionist history and short memories.
He was releasing diaries about how happy he was at the club at the same time he was actively talking to GWS. He was seeking the advice and support of Boyd who handed him the captaincy who spoke to him regularly and had no qualms about handing him the captaincy. In fact I remember an article where Boyd stated that Griffen was relishing the role and was taking his football to a new level because of it.

All of a sudden we're being lead to believe that he wasn't ever comfortable with the role. Poppycock! He accepted it and was fine with it until he wasn't.

When he wasn't was when the seemingly juggernaut GWS came knocking in early 2014 with his mate Cal offering him a little more and the chance to be part of several flags and to get away from that prick McCartney. Griffen lied to the face of Chris Grant and Peter Gordon who then made the decision to keep McCartney with the view to adding some supports. Then Griffen reneged went off pig shooting and McCartney was sacked. Griffen's manager was still adamant that he should be traded as McCartney was not the reason his client wanted to leave. And so we had to part ways with our in contract best player and captain with our hands tied because he was incommunicable and only wanted GWS. Gordon will forever have my thanks and respect for how he turned this around and Griffen will forever have my scorn.

 

[Yojimbo]

Ah revisionist history and short memories.
He was releasing diaries about how happy he was at the club at the same time he was actively talking to GWS. He was seeking the advice and support of Boyd who handed him the captaincy who spoke to him regularly and had no qualms about handing him the captaincy. In fact I remember an article where Boyd stated that Griffen was relishing the role and was taking his football to a new level because of it.

All of a sudden we're being lead to believe that he wasn't never comfortable with the role. Poppycock! He accepted it and was fine with it until he wasn't.

When he wasn't was when the seemingly juggernaut GWS came knocking in early 2014 with his mate Cal offering him a little more and the chance to be part of several flags and to get away from that prick McCartney. Griffen lied to the face of Chris Grant and Peter Gordon who then made the decision to keep McCartney with the view to adding some supports. Then Griffen reneged went off pig shooting and McCartney was sacked. Griffen's manager was still adamant that he should be traded as McCartney was not the reason his client wanted to leave. And so we had to part ways with our in contract best player and captain with our hands tied because he was incommunicable and only wanted GWS. Gordon will forever have my thanks and respect for how he turned this around and Griffen will forever have my scorn.

You know I love ya mate, but Griffen was fishing in South Australia not pig shooting. Hope Linke is well and nice to have you back.

 

[Outback Footy]

Loved him. Wasn't captain material and that tipped him over, would welcome him back now.

 

[revo333]

I rate the Brian Lake departure worse. He devalued himself to such an extent we got virtually nothing for him (sorry Nathan). An AA who would later play in 3 flags as KPD and win a norm smith and we got pick 21 and change. He then miraculously gets fit and finds form once he left. He sinks in the boots every chance he gets.

All he had to do was get fit and they were going to pick him and they were that good he was always going to have it easy playing.

It's some of biggest downhill skiing (bigger then Durant) that a sports person has ever done to win.

 

[TiAn_]

Lol plotting to leave the club????

Some of you people are so blindly bias it’s beyond a joke.

The only person in here that used “plotting” was me.

You call people weak for saying they have you on ignore but referring to you, but you do it constantly haha I love it.

Griffen didn’t wake up on Oct 9 and suddenly decide to go. He plotted to leave. Going missing immediately after the trade demand was planned. Use your brain.

And it’s “biased”.

 

[TiAn_]

Ah revisionist history and short memories.
He was releasing diaries about how happy he was at the club at the same time he was actively talking to GWS. He was seeking the advice and support of Boyd who handed him the captaincy who spoke to him regularly and had no qualms about handing him the captaincy. In fact I remember an article where Boyd stated that Griffen was relishing the role and was taking his football to a new level because of it.

All of a sudden we're being lead to believe that he wasn't never comfortable with the role. Poppycock! He accepted it and was fine with it until he wasn't.

When he wasn't was when the seemingly juggernaut GWS came knocking in early 2014 with his mate Cal offering him a little more and the chance to be part of several flags and to get away from that prick McCartney. Griffen lied to the face of Chris Grant and Peter Gordon who then made the decision to keep McCartney with the view to adding some supports. Then Griffen reneged went off pig shooting and McCartney was sacked. Griffen's manager was still adamant that he should be traded as McCartney was not the reason his client wanted to leave. And so we had to part ways with our in contract best player and captain with our hands tied because he was incommunicable and only wanted GWS. Gordon will forever have my thanks and respect for how he turned this around and Griffen will forever have my scorn.

Exactly. It's pretty clear that he wanted to jump ship to somewhere on the up where he could win a flag or two (as EVERYONE expected at the time) and still get paid decent dollars before his back gave out. He wasn't going to Melbourne or Carlton or Brisbane.

 

[Mattdougie]

All he had to do was get fit and they were going to pick him and they were that good he was always going to have it easy playing.

It's some of biggest downhill skiing (bigger then Durant) that a sports person has ever done to win.

Downhill skier when you are the best player in the team as Durant is?

 

[Lucky Star]

All of a sudden we're being lead to believe that he wasn't never comfortable with the role. Poppycock! He accepted it and was fine with it until he wasn't..

Everyone is entitled to their opinion but I don't believe this is true. Somebody who knows him well has told me how he spent the entire 2014 year completely stressed out. Secondhand info I know (although probably a lot more direct than most stuff on this site), but I would also say that from afar he doesn't seem like the type you have painted him.

 

[immortalmike]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion but I don't believe this is true. Somebody who knows him well has told me how he spent the entire 2014 year completely stressed out. Secondhand info I know (although probably a lot more direct than most stuff on this site), but I would also say that from afar he doesn't seem like the type you have painted him.

From afar Ted Bundy seemed a nice normal intelligent guy.

I haven't painted him in any way. Everything I've written was from media releases from him and his management at the time that he signed off on. The revisionist history has come from the people painting him as some timid child/teenager. He was a champion veteran player who had been in the system for over a decade with plenty of supports. He could very well have overseen the destruction of our club that it turned out okay does not absolve his actions or his seeming personality absolve his conduct. He even thumbed his nose at our club and it's supporters on the way out participating in the lost dogs campaign. How many times does he have to spit in our collective faces before we stop giving him the benefit of the doubt.

 

[Lucky Star]

From afar Ted Bundy seemed a nice normal intelligent guy.

I haven't painted him in any way. Everything I've written was from media releases from him and his management at the time that he signed off on. The revisionist history has come from the people painting him as some timid child/teenager. He was a champion veteran player who had been in the system for over a decade with plenty of supports. He could very well have overseen the destruction of our club that it turned out okay does not absolve his actions or his seeming personality absolve his conduct. He even thumbed his nose at our club and it's supporters on the way out participating in the lost dogs campaign. How many times does he have to spit in our collective faces before we stop giving him the benefit of the doubt.

Well I tried to be polite about it but whatever bruz.

 

[Braybrook Son]

Most of you can bag him, but indirectly, it was because of him leaving that we won a flag. No Tom Boyd, no flag. Simple!

 

[immortalmike]

Well I tried to be polite about it but whatever bruz.

So putting forward a perspective is impolite? I'm genuinely curious. Did I offend you personally? If so that is not my intention.

 

[Draft Pick]

Most of you can bag him, but indirectly, it was because of him leaving that we won a flag. No Tom Boyd, no flag. Simple!

Another season of Macca would have driven us mad, and created more instability.
And no Bevo for that time.
Thanks Griff.

 

[BRWB]

Ah Ryan Griffen. Now a de facto flag hero...

Just because we got a nice flag flower from the s**t he left behind doesn't mean he didnt s**t on us as a club.

Pretty piss weak character.

A - Too weak a character to refuse the captaincy

B - As captain was planning a departure from at least mid season (confirmed by Cameron in interiew)

C - Didnt allow the club the opportunity to even talk to him to attempt to reconcile.

Gutless.

Ryan Griffen de facto flag hero.

Pigs arse.