Congratulations Ryan Griffen - 200 Games v North

[bornadog]

Congratulations to one of the Bulldogs best.

Has had an outstanding career to date and always a pleasure to watch.

[Bulldog4life]

Ryan Griffen you are a star. Congrats on reaching the 200 game Club.

[Twodogs]

That came around quick. One of the best Ive seen in the red, white and blue.

I hope he gets to strut his stuff on GF day before he hangs up his boots.

[Twodogs]

For us, obviously.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

That came around quick. One of the best Ive seen in the red, white and blue.

I hope he gets to strut his stuff on GF day before he hangs up his boots.

I was about to say the same thing.

Time goes so quick. I remember when we first drafted him, and thinking how good our midfield would be with Coons/Griff at full throttle.

I feel old!

[Go_Dogs]

We'll done to Griff, been very enjoyable watching him play for us and look forward to seeing him play another 100.

[bornadog]

We'll done to Griff, been very enjoyable watching him play for us and look forward to seeing him play another 100.

I think he will be our next 300 game player

[GVGjr]

I think he will be our next 300 game player

Another 5 or 6 years to get there. Given his playing style it's a huge task.

[bulldogtragic]

Really, 200. This post could also be in the 'when did you realise you were old thread'.

Great value at a pick 3.

[bornadog]

Really, 200. This post could also be in the 'when did you realise you were old thread'.

Great value at a pick 3.

Buddy also playing his 200th - pick 5 wasn't he?

[bulldogtragic]

Buddy also playing his 200th - pick 5 wasn't he?

Yep, high risk, high reward option. Laurie Angwin wasn't at pick 7.

But as far as value, Hawks got members, 2 flags and MacEvoy. Good value I agree.

[lemmon]

Still wouldn't change Griff for anyone in that draft. Loyal as they come, a terrific leader, outstanding player and great human being. Well done Skip.

[Remi Moses]

Been terrific . Offered big money at club peptides an knocked it back.

[Go_Dogs]

Been terrific . Offered big money at club peptides an knocked it back.

The better one was rejecting strong interest from the Crows 3-4 years ago.

Regarding 300 games, I agree that it will be difficult but Griff is a good player who hopefully can do less heavy lifting over the coming years. I think he can get there.

[SlimPickens]

Fantastic servant of our footy club. Will always be one of my favourites, simply because he played his best football in big finals.

Here is hoping we can get a win for his milestone match. Well done Griff!!

[whythelongface]

A legend for our club. Congrats to him and hopefully we see him round for another 4 to 5 seasons.

[bornadog]

A tribute from Bob


No song-and-dance about Ryan Griffen, but singing the team song matters

DateAugust 13, 2014 - 3:00PMhttp://images.theage.com.au/2013/05/16/4276563/127x127_bobmurphy.jpg (http://www.theage.com.au/afl/by/Bob-Murphy)
Bob Murphy (http://www.theage.com.au/afl/by/Bob-Murphy)

Western Bulldogs star

"But only in their dreams can men be truly free. It was always thus and always thus will be."
- Robin Williams (as John Keating), Dead Poet's Society

One of the first conversations I had with Ryan Griffen was in the showers at Whitten Oval after a hard day's training in the hot summer sun.
Ryan had only just arrived at the Bulldogs a few days earlier and was still adjusting to life in the big league and the big city. At the time, I remember thinking he seemed so shy, and the sad eyes made me think he was pretty homesick already.

I, on the other hand, was an old hand at this AFL stuff. I'd been playing senior footy for four or five years, clocked up nearly 80 games and was brimming with self-importance.
I asked our young gun No. 3 draft pick a few generic questions about where he grew up and where he played his junior footy, that kind of thing. I was relishing my self-appointed role as "young veteran know-it-all" when Ryan politely asked me a question: "Have you played any games yet?"

He had no idea who I was. How could he not know who I was?!!!
I was crushed.
I now know that while Griff loves his footy and in his own way is a student of the game, he isn't impressed by reputations or titles, nor does he seem interested in the white noise that surrounds AFL footy these days. In all likelihood, he will not even read this column. (How could he not read this column?!!!)

This week, Ryan plays his 200th game for our club. The shy kid from Goolwa is now the Bulldogs' captain and a superstar of the game.
By chance this week, I was at a cafe in Footscray with Ryan and our good mate Shaun Higgins, and we got talking about things (coffee chats have almost made shower chats redundant). After a little while I asked my skipper what he most loved about playing footy.
Almost before I finished asking the question, he answered, "Singing the song with the boys after a win." There's nothing remarkable about the answer - I'm sure if you asked 100 league footballers what they most loved about playing they might say something similar. But when Griff says it, I get the feeling it's more than the standard response.
I've always thought the singing of the team song, arm-in-arm, is one of the few things left in AFL footy that is exactly the same as it was when we played in the under 10s. It is pure.

For lads who grow up in the country, in particular, our first footy clubs are very special to us. I know there have been times in my football career where I've longed for a more simple life, a more simple game.
A day at the footy in the country is a most perfect thing. Mums, Dads, little kids, friends old and new, all gathered under tin roofs and in parked cars around the boundary line to watch their local boys take it up to "the other mob" from down the road. The players out on the park doing their bit, trying to get a win for their club, trying to get a kick.
One of the difficult things about a professional league footy career is that it's so bloody hard to play in the moment all the time. Every action on the field is recorded, judged, critiqued and, more often than not, revisited. This eventually takes a toll on the pure enjoyment players can draw from playing the game. In country footy, the thrill of the contest burns brightly and briefly, only revisited over the bar in front of an open fire.

I've never asked Ryan this before, but I wonder if that's something he has felt during his career. I'm curious as to how he found a way to overcome it. Because at his best, there is no more instinctive player going around. He finds a way to play in the moment more often than the rest of us, and I admire him for that alone.
Last year I wrote about what it's like to see him at his best up close. The most striking thing is the blunt fact that he is blessed with supreme natural talent combined with a raging fire inside. Quite simply, he tries harder than everybody else around him. It's a devastating combination.

Over coffee in Footscray I worked the conversation to a topic I know we both enjoy - the country life. He hinted that maybe one day he could see himself with a few acres down Gippsland way and having a kick for a local team on the weekend.
"Warragul?" I asked.
"Maybe," came his reply.

I reckon the "Gulls" could squeeze him into their best 22. I might even join him.
Thankfully for Bulldogs fans, the quiet country life is still a few years off and we can all enjoy watching one of the best try harder than the rest for a while longer.
For now, all our captain wants this week is to sing the song with his mates, and that's all his teammates want for him. Oh captain, our captain.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/no-songanddance-about-ryan-griffen-but-singing-the-team-song-matters-20140813-103gzk.html#ixzz3AFqqOD2b

[Go_Dogs]

Nice article, as always.

Hopefully there is a bit more Griff in the media this weekend for his 200th.

[whythelongface]

Nice article, as always.

Hopefully there is a bit more Griff in the media this weekend for his 200th.

All the media attention seems to be on that other footballer playing his 200th.

Let's hope Griff gets the accolades he so deserves (not Griff probably cares but we as supporter sure hell do).

[Go_Dogs]

(not Griff probably cares but we as supporter sure hell do).

I imagine he prefers it this way, but as you say, as supporters it would be great to see a bit of fanfare.

[jeemak]

Yeah, Griff's a legend and that was a great article.

One of my favourite players due to his knack of performing in finals when those around him haven't been able to go an extra step with him.

Congratulations on 200 games.

[Greystache]

Great career to date, and as others have said, I admire him for being one of our few legends that enhanced their reputation in finals.

I named my Bulldog Griffy in tribute!

[LostDoggy]

Congratulations on your 200th Griff. What a wonderful player and young man to boot. Hope all goes well on Sunday for him.

[dadsgirl16]

Congrats to a fine player and fine man

Those of you feeling old...spare a thought for those of us who are!

[Ozza]

I remember the first goal he kicked, on the run from 50 against the Eagles in Perth. Was pretty clear already that he was going to be a special player.

An all time favourite, and best on ground for us in more than half of the finals he's played.

[craigsahibee]

If anyone deserves a win in a milestone game it this bloke.

Congratulations Ryan. One of our all time greats.

[bornadog]

Big brother' Griffen hits 200-game milestone

Nat Edwards August 14, 2014 12:10 PM






http://www.afl.com.au/staticfile/AFL%20Tenant/WesternBulldogs/Photo%20Galleries/2014%20-%20Galleries/Rd%2019%20-%20v%20Hawthorn/341029-tlsnewsportrait.jpg



ON THE eve of his 200th game, Western Bulldogs skipper Ryan Griffen says his early struggles to reach the standards of AFL football made him slow to reach his true potential.

Drafted at pick No.3 in 2004 behind Richmond midfielder Brett Deleidio and Hawthorn spearhead Jarryd Roughead, Griffen failed to meet the lofty expectations set on him as a talented junior, despite a whirlwind debut in 2005 where he kicked two goals.

After sitting on the bench for the first half he finally got the nod from coach Rodney Eade to play at half-forward, and within minutes kicked his first ever goal at AFL level.

He played 17 games in his first year and showed glimpses of his talent but it wasn't until 2008 and 2009 that he began to consistently show what he was capable of.

By the 2010 finals series he had marked himself as one of the Bulldogs' most important players.

Griffen, now a two-time Charles Sutton medalist and All Australian midfielder, said he was "over the moon" to finally notch up his 200th game.

"Time has flown and I've enjoyed every minute of it," he said on Thursday.

"It took me a few years to realise how hard I had to train. I was a careless kid who came in, and I think the standards probably weren't there for the first few years.

"I had a lot of good guys around me like Scott West and Luke Darcy who really trained me up well. I think after being in the system for four or five years I realised I had to lift my standard, and that's when I played better footy.

"When I first started I didn’t think I'd make 200 but to make it, I'm very happy."

Bulldogs coach Brendan McCartney has seen Griffen improve further under his tutelage, and described his captain as "a big brother" to the new breed of pups at the Whitten Oval.

"Having coached against him for a long time, I loved watching him but we were fearful of what he could do to us," McCartney said.

"Now that I'm coaching him, I still find myself watching him sometimes, marveling at the things that he does. Rare power is good to watch and good for the game.

"There's different styles of captaincy. There's captains who are strong and firm and make great speeches and then there's Ryan, who we all love and is like a big brother.

"I know that he cares for them deeply and they’re very important to him."

The Bulldogs face North Melbourne on Sunday, and McCartney said the players would use Griffen's milestone as inspiration.

"I think the players will draw on it," he said.

"That brotherly influence, they have a lot of respect for this man. But once the game starts, you've got a job to do and you sort of get on with it. If I need to bring it up at half-time though, it'll get a run."

m (http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-08-14/big-brother-catches-up)ore here

[The bulldog tragician]

What a great concept. Griff as a big brother.

Quite some time ago I saw Griff and Farren Ray, in their first or second seasons, out for coffee with Rohan Smith & his kids in Williamstown. Now Griff gets to return the favour for the "new generation." (Time flies). I like the care and comradeship our players all show for each other, I think it's part of the reason we've had a strong culture.

For Griff, I hope for a stirring win and at least one of those trademark goals on the run which we don't see as much any more. A player to be very proud of for playing in the red, white and blue, well done Griff.

[I'm Not Bitter Anymore!]

Shimmy Griff shimmy

[Eastdog]

Congratulations Griff on 200 games. You have been a great servant of our club and I hope you can reach 300 games.

[josie]

Love Ya Griff !! Looking forward to you putting in a blinder against the Roos. I hope our boy's dig deep to make this a memorable win. You're a champion player & bloke, leading by example like the best captains do e.g. outwitting taggers, playing in pain, laying immaculate tackles & being loyal. May you play many more games in the red, white & blue.

[comrade]

Played another captain's game. Shame his teammates couldn't get up for it.

#GRIFF200

[KT31]

Congrats to Griff, tried his guts out today and its a pity we didn't put in the hard yards for him.