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Rookie ruck ace is no longer a stringbean
By ANDREW CAPEL
07jul05
REMEMBER the mystery ruckman Adelaide tried to hide before rookie-listing him in December?
Jonathon Griffin, the 200cm stringbean whose light 82kg frame was one of his biggest obstacles to playing AFL football, has put on a staggering 13kg in six months. Recruited from East Fremantle, Griffin's weight has ballooned to an impressive 95kg as the Crows ready him for the rigours of the AFL.
The 19-year-old, who is viewed as an exciting long-term prospect, has been working hard on the weights and sticking to a diet rich in carbohydrates and proteins to build muscle. His diet - mapped out on a weekly basis by club dietician Nick Wray - includes plenty of pasta, bread, fish, eggs and milk.
"And the results are evident," Adelaide fitness coach and selector Stephen Schwerdt said. "Jonathon's coming along nicely. This was always going to be a development year for him and one of our main goals was to put some weight on him, which is working. But he still needs to add some more."
Griffin has played the full season with SANFL premier Central District, mostly in the reserves.
He has played just one league game - against Norwood at The Parade in round 10 - but Dogs coach Roy Laird says there is plenty to like about him.
"He looks like he is going to be a really good footballer," Laird said. "He moves very well, is not ungainly like a lot of tall players and his ruckwork is good. Unlike at the start of the season, he doesn't look raw at all now."
Griffin is not the only player who has stacked on some muscle since the Crows began pre-season training in October.
VFL premiership coach Robert Walls has noted how Adelaide now has "an imposing physical presence". "Their strong legs and contoured bodies stand out. And they use their strength to advantage," he said.
Adelaide is bigger and stronger this year.
While Schwerdt says that "not much has changed" for the senior group - men such as captain Mark Ricciuto, Simon Goodwin and Tyson Edwards - Neil Craig's backbone group is more powerful.
Schwerdt estimates about 25 of the Crows' 44-member squad, including rookies, have added some muscle. Talls Trent Hentschel, Nathan Bock and Ben Hudson have put on at least 4kg each.
"And we've just cut the surface. There's a long way to go," Schwerdt said.
"We have made some progress but there's a lot of guys who we need to keep working on in that area. And it's not a matter of just going out and trying to put as much weight on a player as you can, we look at each player individually and try to work out their ideal playing weight, how to get to that weight and keep lean at same time."
Schwerdt said getting players physically ready for the rigours of the AFL was "an important issue for every club".
"We get a lot of our players at (age) 18 and some of them haven't done any weight training at all," he said. "So it has to be a major focus."
We are going to have ruckmen coming out of our clacker in the years ahead. With Hudson, Biglands, Meesen, Maric and Griffen as well as the almost forgotten Clarke, we are becoming the big unit club, no doubt about it.
By ANDREW CAPEL
07jul05
REMEMBER the mystery ruckman Adelaide tried to hide before rookie-listing him in December?
Jonathon Griffin, the 200cm stringbean whose light 82kg frame was one of his biggest obstacles to playing AFL football, has put on a staggering 13kg in six months. Recruited from East Fremantle, Griffin's weight has ballooned to an impressive 95kg as the Crows ready him for the rigours of the AFL.
The 19-year-old, who is viewed as an exciting long-term prospect, has been working hard on the weights and sticking to a diet rich in carbohydrates and proteins to build muscle. His diet - mapped out on a weekly basis by club dietician Nick Wray - includes plenty of pasta, bread, fish, eggs and milk.
"And the results are evident," Adelaide fitness coach and selector Stephen Schwerdt said. "Jonathon's coming along nicely. This was always going to be a development year for him and one of our main goals was to put some weight on him, which is working. But he still needs to add some more."
Griffin has played the full season with SANFL premier Central District, mostly in the reserves.
He has played just one league game - against Norwood at The Parade in round 10 - but Dogs coach Roy Laird says there is plenty to like about him.
"He looks like he is going to be a really good footballer," Laird said. "He moves very well, is not ungainly like a lot of tall players and his ruckwork is good. Unlike at the start of the season, he doesn't look raw at all now."
Griffin is not the only player who has stacked on some muscle since the Crows began pre-season training in October.
VFL premiership coach Robert Walls has noted how Adelaide now has "an imposing physical presence". "Their strong legs and contoured bodies stand out. And they use their strength to advantage," he said.
Adelaide is bigger and stronger this year.
While Schwerdt says that "not much has changed" for the senior group - men such as captain Mark Ricciuto, Simon Goodwin and Tyson Edwards - Neil Craig's backbone group is more powerful.
Schwerdt estimates about 25 of the Crows' 44-member squad, including rookies, have added some muscle. Talls Trent Hentschel, Nathan Bock and Ben Hudson have put on at least 4kg each.
"And we've just cut the surface. There's a long way to go," Schwerdt said.
"We have made some progress but there's a lot of guys who we need to keep working on in that area. And it's not a matter of just going out and trying to put as much weight on a player as you can, we look at each player individually and try to work out their ideal playing weight, how to get to that weight and keep lean at same time."
Schwerdt said getting players physically ready for the rigours of the AFL was "an important issue for every club".
"We get a lot of our players at (age) 18 and some of them haven't done any weight training at all," he said. "So it has to be a major focus."
We are going to have ruckmen coming out of our clacker in the years ahead. With Hudson, Biglands, Meesen, Maric and Griffen as well as the almost forgotten Clarke, we are becoming the big unit club, no doubt about it.
)
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