Player Watch #24: Ben Griffiths - retired effectively immediately

Will he play for the Tigers at AFL level again?

  • Yes

    Votes: 54 32.1%

  • No

    Votes: 114 67.9%
  • Total voters
    168

Remove this Banner Ad

mopsy said:
thats just it in nut shell.
People see the names, but it doesnt seem to sink in that none of them have any runs on the board.People are quick to forget the simple fact that Most talls fail and they also forget of the ones who do make it it takes the majority of them 3 or 4 yrs just to get up to standard.
Consider that and then look at Griffiths retirement and this yr it leaves us with just one experienced tall fwd.A blind man could see this coming.
And what about those names and what looks like their foremost role

Garthwaite _ is a defender, and because of the same sort of situation in defense should be getting games this yr. Weather he is third tall or kpd we really have to get some experience into him because hes the one who will have to step into Rance Or Astburys role if either get hurt.With Broad out theres a great opportunity to play him for the first three games at least.

Moore - yep a tall fwd who for some reason we have not bothered to put games into with the exception of a couple at the end of a poor season in 2016.
Kids coming off a very good finish in the seconds last yr where he has shown more than enough to be placed on the senior list but wasn't. I'm not sure they rate him at the club. Of all the tall's on the list without runs on the board he seems the most logical one to play. Been around for a few seasons has all the attributes to compliment the way our fwd line works, pace agility strong mark if he brings the defensive pressure hes a perfect fit. Im still a bit shocked we did not put at least some games into him last yr especially with only Jack up their for so long.

Chol - He is getting bigger each yr and as that happens i think we need to play him more as a ruckman. In fact i believe he is first and foremost a ruckman.We do need to remember when drafted he was a seriously skinny kid who would have got snapped in two if we put him anywhere near the ruck.
If he makes it he would be the perfect foil for Nankervis because of the different type of ruckman he is. Nankervis a big bodied crash bash type Chol a high leaping agile type.With Chols grounding as a fwd he could like toby be expected to go fwd and kick the odd snag .
We originally got Hampson because Maric had trouble with the leapers well big Toby is in the same boat.In fact Toby has a lot of improving to do on his ruck work.That aint a put down its just something that can be improved and if it does he will be an even better player than he is now.

these three have at least been in the system for a few yrs. imo only one in Moore is a natural fwd,and is the only one who has shown enough as a fwd it hits you in the face that it is now time to see what this Kid can offer.

Then theres the three new boys. It is absolutely laughable that people are thinking these KIDS will come straight in and dominate for us. They are all a good size and that may or may not allow them to cope and may even allow em to get some games. If they do get games these boys will be getting them more for the experience than anything else.
Talls mostly take a bit of time.Why do we think ours are any different? Yet we are talking as if they are a solution this yr.
They are HOPEFULLY a solution but a solution for down the track. Atm they are 18yo juniors who firstly have to prove they are worthy of even keeping and develop into AFL players.If any manage to get games this yr then thats a bonus.

Of the three Balta, Coleman-Jones and Miller i actually think the latter is the best chance of playing early. Mainly because of not just his size which all three have but his footy background.

I think this a great pick for where we got him ive actually argued for yrs that our late nd picks and rookie picks be used on at least some talls with outstanding attributes.
I only have the one concern with Ben well maybe two, and i think it is the same for most. At 196cm his best footy has been as a ruckman and he may not survive in the afl as a ruckman. He has already had a big growth spurt last yr to get to 196cm im not sure theres going to be another. Also his size its the man against boys thing but this is offset already as hes held his own against men in a pretty tough league.At colt though his size was a big advantage and how that translates when he comes up against blokes as big or bigger at afl is always a question that gets asked.
I dont think this really matters 2005 Shannon Hurn was a standout man boy and everyone was saying it wont help him at afl. Trouble was when you looked past his size he could play and play damn well that yr i had him a top 5 pick so with Ben i think he has the tools and being such a big unit makes it even better.
But in saying that he has the attributes to play kpp.that could take a bit of time to hone and develop.With the way he moves i could see no reason why he could not in old school speak play as big ruck/rover or a blicsavs role.
Personally if he showed he could cope id have no problem throwing him in for some games, with no expectations on the kid.
Click to expand...

My read on our young kp players is that they all have the athletic attributes to play AFL but their football ability is a bit of the unknown at the moment. However if we can keep developing them with Leppa and Rutten taking them under their wing, we could have some really ggod sized talls capable of playing kp roles without necessarily being stars.
That's medium to long term scenario, as you say can't expect too much from any of these kids in the early part of their careers.
 
Some very intuitive comments in this thread. I think most of us saw and were excited by his potential and would hang our hats on the 'the tall guys mature later' rack hoping for another Richo is he went into his late 20s. I think though we were all realistic enough to realize he was not there yet and was maybe one more severe concussion away from retirement. His last concussion I seen particularly unnerved me, it was not from a head knock but from landing awkwardly on his backside after flying for a mark ... if a spinal jar could concuss him that's scary.

For my part I felt the final concussion was more likely than him reaching his full potential so, apart from the unfortunate timing for us, I think this is a good result for him.

We know he can kick a mile and could have a big impact in the US and is likely on more money in a college team than he would have been on here on contract.

I hope in 10 years we are all talking the 5 time pro-bowl NFL punter who came from '5 peat' premiers Richmond :)
 

Log in to remove this ad.

Charlie Pannam said:
However if we can keep developing them with Leppa and Rutten taking them under their wing,
Click to expand...

In past pre-seasons, I would have zero faith in any of our tall prospects coming on. I have some faith in Leppa and Rutten getting some improvement out of them now.

And I reckon Riewoldt and Rance both contribute something to development too. It was easy to see a bit of Rance's technique in both Astbury and Grimes last year.
 
mopsy said:
Chol - He is getting bigger each yr and as that happens i think we need to play him more as a ruckman. In fact i believe he is first and foremost a ruckman.We do need to remember when drafted he was a seriously skinny kid who would have got snapped in two if we put him anywhere near the ruck.
Click to expand...

Haven't seen Chol play much ruck at VFL level. He has looked best at full back, IMO.

As you say, his got agility. I hope he could play ruck, but I reckon he might need a simple job to be at his best - like play behind his opponent and fly at the high ball to spoil. Has had a tendency to get a bit lost when its up to him to make the play, up until now.
 
Charlie Pannam said:
My read on our young kp players is that they all have the athletic attributes to play AFL but their football ability is a bit of the unknown at the moment. However if we can keep developing them with Leppa and Rutten taking them under their wing, we could have some really ggod sized talls capable of playing kp roles without necessarily being stars.
That's medium to long term scenario, as you say can't expect too much from any of these kids in the early part of their careers.
Click to expand...

I think if we can find a tall with footy smarts it is really like winning tattslotto in today's world of athleticism and will go a long long way to maintaining our success. A lot has been said about Dusty but we couldn't have won the flag last year without Jack.
 
Actually the funniest thing on here is all the desperate mentions on here of 'Griff being on our list in a premiership year' as some sort of majestic accolade.
Clutching at straws much?????
He had as much relevance to our grand final win as Taylor Hunt, Steve Morris, Nathan Drummond, Mabior Chol and each and every single poster here on Big Footy.
Yeah I get he's part of a team, but he got nowhere near the senior team after half time of round two. Yet, in retirement - as in his ordinary playing days - we want to glorify, overstate and amplify this bloke's contribution.
I'll pen the title of his autobiography .... 'The Hope and the Hype'.
 
SumTingWong said:
In Lynch
Out Griffiths

View attachment 450519
Click to expand...


Actually I think it may prove a great opportunity for Balta and Miller.

In fact maybe the progression of Balta and Miller over the summer helped Ben make a more astute decision.

Anyway I hope Ben makes a success of it overseas, I think he gave it a crack for us but it simply was not to be!!
 
Goldust said:
Actually the funniest thing on here is all the desperate mentions on here of 'Griff being on our list in a premiership year' as some sort of majestic accolade.
Clutching at straws much?????
He had as much relevance to our grand final win as Taylor Hunt, Steve Morris, Nathan Drummond, Mabior Chol and each and every single poster here on Big Footy.
Yeah I get he's part of a team, but he got nowhere near the senior team after half time of round two. Yet, in retirement - as in his ordinary playing days - we want to glorify, overstate and amplify this bloke's contribution.
I'll pen the title of his autobiography .... 'The Hope and the Hype'.
Click to expand...


Dunno, his injuries empowered the small forward line so in a indirect way he kinda shaped our forward line and our success particularly with Townsend strategically added late at the end of the season.

Bit like Hird injuries in previous years helped the 2000 premiership for Essendon
 
TigermanM2 said:
A lot has been said about Dusty but we couldn't have won the flag last year without Jack.
Click to expand...

Can anything about a Richmond premiership be underrated? Maybe.

Riewoldt's season was a thing of great beauty. I can't remember a smarter KPF. They're often cunning buggars, granted, but Riewoldt's ability to be in the right place and do the right thing to set up his teammates is amazing.

Dispatched every scout to Tassie! Lynch be buggared. The lineage needs to be continued! Hart, Roach, Richardson, Riewoldt, ???
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Menadew said:
Gee this is poor. Not sure if you guys are mates or something and your having a lend. I really hope so. He was just relaying a personal story about Griff and how he loved him as a footy player. First paragraph was beautifully written. Not sure why the attack?
Click to expand...
Sorry he attacked me in an earlier post which was reported and deleted. He struggles in comprehending posts yet goes full out on attack at any hint of hope of trying to discredit me. This story would be best on some feel good thread relevant to meeting up with players. Beautifully written ??? That’s opinion.
I also have some stories regarding Ben , but they’re irrelevant to this thread.
 
This Is Anfield said:
Understand all that but the eternal optimist that is me always hoped that he would be like Dave Astbury and show us how good he could be once he got a really good run at it.
Alas, not to be.
More importantly, I hope Ben never suffers any long term ill effects from the repeated concussions.
Click to expand...
he s never played the game like DA, he s an old skool CHB that attacks every contest like its his last and has a neat habit of really clunking them marks. griff teased with his above average talent but below average footy nous that threads all that talent together. yep had injuries however reality is he played 2 really good games, V freo and swans . I wish him all the very best and believe that it may actually work out for him . i love that it opens the prospect of one of emerging talls to really step up and grab that spot
 
Bojangles17 said:
where they
Click to expand...
“It came as a shock when Ben made the announcement on Thursday morning," said Balme

e9ce4003872bbc0ba6a66d36c2846ef3
 
Socrates2 said:
“It came as a shock when Ben made the announcement on Thursday morning," said Balme

e9ce4003872bbc0ba6a66d36c2846ef3
Click to expand...

Shock as in I can't believe our luck or shock as in what will we do without him?
 
RunningBounce said:
Can anything about a Richmond premiership be underrated? Maybe.

Riewoldt's season was a thing of great beauty. I can't remember a smarter KPF. They're often cunning buggars, granted, but Riewoldt's ability to be in the right place and do the right thing to set up his teammates is amazing.

Dispatched every scout to Tassie! Lynch be buggared. The lineage needs to be continued! Hart, Roach, Richardson, Riewoldt, ???
Click to expand...

Absolutely spot on with your comments on JR. What was critical for the role he played was everything else he did for the team above his KP role. His determination to be involved in multiple phases of play by competing in the air and then on the ground meant our smalls could play the role they did.

Good luck to Griffiths. I thought he was going to be key for us last year and in a way he was. Just not the way we thought he would be. He was first choice for us as a 2nd KPF but when he went down, our forward line was restructured and the rest is history. Good servant of the club and wish him all the best.
 
RussellEbertHandball said:
My sister is good friends with Ben's mother's cousin. When I was doing some work at my sister on the GC in June, her friend told me about Ben's concussion issues and that he hoped, but didn't expect to play AFL again and that he probably wasn't going to play much more VFL games either. She said he was looking at what was his next step in his life and study was one of them. My sister's friend is a leading academic in law has been a prof at 2 or 3 uni's over her career.

Getting a full scholarship to play and study for the USC Trojans and the Uni where LA's business, legal, medical etc elites go to, isn't a bad alternative. Who knows where he will end up if he does well given the way US college/uni alumni's work.
Click to expand...

When Brendon Gale eventually retires, maybe another former player with the initials BG will come back to continue our off field (and on field) dominance. :thumbsu:
 
TigermanM2 said:
I think if we can find a tall with footy smarts it is really like winning tattslotto in today's world of athleticism and will go a long long way to maintaining our success. A lot has been said about Dusty but we couldn't have won the flag last year without Jack.
Click to expand...
Get no argument from me re Jack, who it the ultimate team man these days. Stats don't capture all the deft little touches to our small/medium forwards that more othan not result in scores, he sees the game unfolding like few others.
 
_RT_ said:
Given everyone had him pegged as never playing another game for us at AFL level I'm not sure we're being disadvantaged. If anything it helps as the club don't have that constant will he or won't he debate going on.

Now they can make the move on to the next crop coming through.
Click to expand...
LOL yep let's rid the list of every fringe player so we don't have constant of will he or won't he and move onto the next crop .
 
Sir_Loin said:
Good luck to the big man, apparently a ripping fella. I had such high hopes for him, just didnt work out at AFL level. Will do well punting. Wouldn’t want to get sacked.
Click to expand...
Definitely a good bloke. When a young fella at our local footy club (also Ben's junior club) lost his mum 18 months ago Ben made a YouTube apology for him and came down with a signed footy and hung out with him for a while.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top