Ryan Griffen

Personal information
Birth	27 July 1986 (1986-07-27) (age 23)
Recruited from	South Adelaide, South Australia
Height and weight	188 cm / 86 kg
Playing career¹
Debut	Round 4 2005, Western Bulldogs vs. West Coast, at Subiaco
Team(s)	Western Bulldogs (2005— ) 97 games, 51 goals
¹ Statistics to end of 2009 season
Career highlights
AFL Rising Star nominee 2005

Ryan Griffen (born 27 July 1986) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League. Originally from South Australia, he was chosen in the 2004 National AFL Draft at number 3 as a priority pick. He managed 17 games in his debut season, perhaps the best debut season for a Bulldogs player since Nathan Brown in 1997 and came second in the AFL Rising Star Medal count.

The 2006 Record describes Griffen as a "defender, both in a man-marking role and as a launching pad for attacking moves". Griffen has already displayed a good deal of the latter at the midway point of the 2006 season and most football critics anticipate that he will have a long career.

He suffered a jarring knee injury in Round 11 2007, where he dislocated his kneecap in the win over the Brisbane Lions. The extent of the injury, in itself, was not season threatening although he did suffer complications from a twisted bowel, which hampered his recovery and ruled him out for the rest of the season.

In 2008, Griffen played 24 games spending more time in the midfield, averaging career highs in disposals, contested and uncontested possessions, inside 50s and clearances. He covered plenty of territory and ranked No.1 at the Bulldogs in inside 50s and rebound 50s combined. He also ranked third in the AFL for running bounces and equal fourth at the Bulldogs for score assists during the H&A rounds. The speedy midfielder broke open a number of games in 2008, earning maximum Brownlow votes in consecutive matches against St Kilda and Essendon in rounds three and four. Finished second in the AFL for bounces and top 10 in the Bulldogs’ best and fairest. The South Australian is at the stage of his career where he could become an elite-level player.

In 2009, Griffen has continued is great form :

Season Highlights 31 disps (12 kicks 19 hballs), 8 marks and a goal in Rd 14 88-pt win over Hawthorn at Etihad Stadium (4 Jul 2009)

24 disps (19 kicks 5 hballs), 3 marks and 4 tackles in Rd 13 22-pt win over North Melbourne at the MCG (28 Jun 2009)

18 disps (12 kicks 6 hballs), 4 marks, 9 tackles and 2 goals in Rd 9 2-pt loss to Geelong at Etihad Stadium (22 May 2009)

28 disps (18 kicks 10 hballs), 4 marks and a goal in Rd 2 15-pt win over North Melbourne at the MCG (5 Apr 2009)

23 disps (11 kicks 12 hballs), 6 marks and 3 goals in Rd 1 63-pt win over Fremantle at Subiaco (29 Mar 2009)

[edit] External links

• Ryan Griffen profile on the Official AFL Website of the Western Bulldogs Football Club
• Ryan Griffen's statistics from AFL Tables

[edit] References

• AFL Record 2006 Season Preview, ed. Michael Lovett, AFL Publishing.