Griffiths | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
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Griffiths

Happy for him but a shame it wasn't decided before the list finalisation.

I am relieved that we don't have to watch him have another concussion and put his life at risk.
 
His heart not in it , better to go . Gives another young tall forward a chance to stand up ..
 
Good Luck to big Griff!!

He was one of my favourites... I remember the promise he showed in his first game, but then of course he was so unlucky with injuries.

In a way, I'm relieved that he's going as I was always fearful of his having another concussion.....his health must come first!
 
happytige said:
Good Luck to big Griff!!

He was one of my favourites... I remember the promise he showed in his first game, but then of course he was so unlucky with injuries.

In a way, I'm relieved that he's going as I was always fearful of his having another concussion.....his health must come first!
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Agree completely.

Best wishes in the next phase of your life big fella.
 
Tigertool said:
It's a shame he never kicked that goal from 65m that those of us in the crowd always urged him to do. He always bloody passed it.

Good luck Ben. I'm glad you're retiring from AFL to head to America rather than from concussions which was probably inevitable.
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He did kick some very long goals - see his highlights tape - but it still omits his 75m bomb in the final quarter of that disastrous EF against PA where we had the wind in the last Q. He was a beautiful kick in style, technique and power; one of the best I have ever seen but as a field kick too, not just at goal. Unfortunately, I believe he had coaches who told him bombing it long was often no good for the team so he curbed his distance to be more pinpoint. It's a measure of his prowess that USC have signed him up on a full four-year scholarship straight up. They obviously rate his potential very highly.

So I endorse your second sentence. It's regrettable that the concussions made this decision the best for Big Ben, but we never saw him dominate games like he had the ability to do, just glimpses of brilliance. Except that fantastic 2016 win over the Swans at the G. with Lloyd's goal after the siren. Griff kicked 5 ripper goals, giving Grundy a bath (not often anyone does that) and bringing forward the retirement of Teddy Richards after Griff ran away from him bouncing the ball before slotting it. What great all-round athleticism for a 200cm giant.

Sorry it came to this, Ben. May you experience great success in your new career. But I will miss the exciting big marks and kicks. What a pity you struck this awful health issue and missed out on a Premiership medal to take with you as a permanent memory of your time at RFC.
 
BrisTiger24 said:
Am I the only one slightly bitter that he has left us one short on the list? Timing couldn't be worse
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I doubt it makes a difference to the club. They just have 1 less salary to pay. If he ever got back, he wouldn't have played to the potential they had him on the list for
 
Good luck to Ben, probably right decision. Love to see him kick that smaller grid iron ball well over 80m (90 yards) seeing as he could get 70m with our footy. Probably why he got 4 year deal but those contracts can be easily broken as Ben Graham found out.
 
Tigertough1974 said:
Generally not the kickers, although very occasionally they have an opportunity to tackle...
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Remember a few years ago that Darren Bennett, the ex-Melbourne punter, laid a heavy tackle when the ball was returned and the commentators went crazy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darren_Bennett_(football_player)
Seems that a lot of their punters come from a soccer background so not much physicality expected.
Interesting that Lennon was trying out for a spot and missed out.
Current punters: Jordan Berry - Pittsburg Steelers http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/how-melbournes-jordan-berry-became-punter-for-pittsburgh-steelers/news-story/05c738b8ed40329d41280cdbd51f6558
Brad Wing - NY Giants https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Wing

The timing is just the way it is with their season just finishing and they're now recruiting.
Just looking at the USC Trojans site, it's not a bad schedule with games on the West Coast - Washington State, Oregon, Colorado, Ohio, Utah, Arizona, Texas and West Michigan plus the Californian colleges.
Be nice to fly around the West Coast on a private plane and only play for a few minutes each week with the season running from September to December.

Enjoy yourself Ben and good luck.
 
leon said:
Except that fantastic 2016 win over the Swans at the G. with Lloyd's goal after the siren. Griff kicked 5 ripper goals,
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and it was Griffiths who passed it to Lloyd ... not taking the shot himself from 60 out ... the type of shot some here say he should have been taking himself.
 
leon said:
He did kick some very long goals - see his highlights tape -
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I know he kicked a couple long-ish goals, but none where he put everything he had into it. That's the highlight I wanted from him.
 
I still remember that kick between wing and half forward on the MCC side against the Hawks that must have gone 70mtrs+ and Gibson had to punch it through right near the goal line. Also against the Hawks (might have been the same game), that long kick from fullback that almost went to the centre square got punched on by Newie and ended up with Dusty on his own running about 30-40 mtrs into goal.

All the best for Ben if he find a spot on a list he could be a real weapon - high and long kicks give the defending team time to get to the fall of the ball.
 
Regarding his kicking, his passing was good. But as for kicking at goal, and kicking the ball long, I never really saw it. When trying to kick a goal from a longish distance he seemed to always kick the ball too high, but not really long. I could never work out why he didn't kick the ball on a lower trajectory.

Ironically, kicking the ball high will probably be more suited to NFL punting.
 
Great chance for Ben.

Just reading more about the USC Trojans.
Campus located in the heart of Los Angeles.
Student body numbers 45,500
Their budget for 2017 was 4.9 BILLION.
Donations were 5 BILLION.
They play home games at the LA Coliseum (where the LA Rams played the Atlanta Falcons last week in the NFL)
Their marching band are most notable for being in the Fleetwood Mac "Tusk" video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfYfd7U8xlo
You get the full effect about 2 minutes in. Sure beats a half dozen drummers.
But we still get more fans at our games. 100,021 (GF) to 93, 607.

The season just ended they had an Australian as one of their punters, Chris Tilbey from Sandringham. http://usctrojans.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=6165
 
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