Rod Griffin

Rodney Griffin (born 5 January 1987) is a Papua New Guinean professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop, second-row and lock forward for the Northern Pride in the Queensland Cup. He is a Papua New Guinean international.[3]

For the basketball player, see Rod Griffin (basketball).

Rod Griffin
Personal information
Full nameRodney Griffin[1]
Born (1987-01-05) 5 January 1987
Port Moresby
Height187 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight100 kg (15 st 10 lb)
Playing information
PositionLock, Second-row, Prop
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2007–17 Papua New Guinea 13 3 0 0 12
Source: [2]
As of 19 November 2017

Background

Born in Papua New Guinea, Griffin moved to Australia at the age of 3[4] and played his junior rugby league for the Atherton Roosters, before going into the North Queensland Cowboys' academy system.[5]

Playing career

Early career

In 2005, Griffin played for the Wynnum Manly Seagulls in the Queensland Cup.[4] In 2006, he moved down to Sydney, New South Wales to play in the Wests Tigers' junior grades.[6][7]

2007

In October and November, Griffin played 3 games for Papua New Guinea against Wales, and France twice.[8]

2008

In 2008, Griffin returned to the Queensland Cup to play for the Northern Pride RLFC.[9] In October and November, he played 3 games for Papua New Guinea at the 2008 Rugby League World Cup against England, New Zealand and Australia.[10][11][12]

2009

In 2009, Griffin had hopes of gaining a contract with the North Queensland Cowboys.[13]

2010

On 19 September, Griffin played in the Pride's 2010 Queensland Cup Grand Final victory over the Norths Devils.[14] In October and November, he played 3 games for Papua New Guinea at the 2010 Rugby League Four Nations against Australia, New Zealand and England.[15]

2011

In 2011, Griffin joined the Tweed Heads Seagulls.[16][17] On 25 September, he played in the Seagulls' 2011 Queensland Cup Grand Final defeat by the Wynnum Manly Seagulls. This was his third Queensland Cup grand final in a row, after losing with the Pride in 2009 and winning with the Pride in 2010.[4]

2013

After spotting him in the Papua New Guinea camp while assistant coaching the side in 2010, Ipswich Jets co-coaches Ben and Shane Walker signed Griffin to the Ipswich side, after initially missing out on him in 2010.[4][18] The Walkers stripped 10 kilograms from his frame and moulded him into an 80-minute middle forward[5] capable of performances like 309 metres in 66 minutes in Queensland Cup.[4]

Griffin playing for the Tigers in 2016

2015

In 2015, Griffin did a pre-season with the Brisbane Broncos,[1] but failed to gain a contract. On 27 September, he played in the Jets' 2015 Queensland Cup Grand Final victory over the Townsville Blackhawks.[19][20] On 4 October, he played in the Jets' 2015 NRL State Championship victory over the Newcastle Knights, scoring a try and setting up a try for winger Marmin Barba.[21] On 13 October, he signed a 1-year contract to return to the Wests Tigers starting in 2016.[22]

2016

On 7 May, Griffin played for Papua New Guinea against Fiji in the 2016 Melanesian Cup.[23] Despite not being able to break into the Tigers' NRL team for 2016, he re-signed with them for 2017.[24]

2017

On 8 February, Griffin was granted a release for his Tigers' contract to join the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, spending the entire season in the New South Wales Cup. At the end of the season, he represented Papua New Guinea at the 2017 Rugby League World Cup and was named in the NSW Cup Team of the Year.

2018

After two seasons in Sydney without making his NRL debut, Griffin returned to north Queensland, joining the Townsville Blackhawks in the Queensland Cup.[25]

References
  1. "Brisbane Broncos Sign PNG International Rodney Griffin aka "Rod the Bod"". Triplem.com.au. 11 December 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  2. "Rod Griffin - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. 5 January 1987. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  3. "Rod Griffin". bigpond.com. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
  4. "Intrust Super Cup Grand Final : Rod Griffin Creates History". Couriermail.com.au. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  5. "Broncos lifeline for PNG journeyman". NRL.com. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  6. "A week im the NRL 10/08 - 16/08/06 - Page 2". Sharksforever.com. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  7. "Harold Matthews, SG Ball, Jersey Flegg to Premier League teams were present to receive awards ranging from best and fairest to player of the year, OURFOOTYTEAM.COM - THE HOME OF JUNIOR RUGBY LEAGUE, Rugby League Results, Rugby League Ladders, Rugby League Draw, JRLFC, NRL, NSWRL, ARL, CSDJRL, SHARKS". Ourfootyteam.com. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  8. "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  9. "BBC SPORT | Rugby League | Rugby League World Cup squads". BBC News. 1 January 1970. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  10. "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  11. "PNG name preliminary squad". RLWC.com. 1 August 2008. Retrieved 6 August 2008.
  12. "Wilshere handed Kumuls captaincy". BBC. 14 October 2008. Retrieved 14 October 2008.
  13. "PNG star comes into Cowboys' calculations - rleague.com". www.rleague.com. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  14. Ricketts, Steve (19 September 2010). "Northern Pride beat Norths Devils in Intrust Super Cup final at Suncorp Stadium". News.com.au. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  15. "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  16. "Griffin expected to return". Tweed Daily News. 10 August 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  17. Round 1 Queensland Intrust Super Cup Preview Archived 3 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine rleague.com, 18 March 2011
  18. "Jets Cup hopes back on track | Ipswich Queensland Times". Qt.com.au. 8 July 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  19. "Historic win for Jets in Intrust Super Cup final | Ipswich Queensland Times". Qt.com.au. 27 September 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  20. "Intrust Super Cup Grand Final preview". NRL.com. 27 September 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  21. Brett Keeble (4 October 2015). "Ipswich Jets shoot down Newcastle Knights to win NRL State Championship Final". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  22. "Wests Tigers secure three forwards | NRL". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  23. "PNG stuns Fiji in a thriller". nrl.com. 7 May 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  24. "Home | Live Scores & Latest News". Fox Sports. 8 November 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  25. "Townsville Blackhawks gains and losses". 2 January 2018.
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