Jonathon Griffin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Jonathon Griffin |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
Griffin playing with Fremantle in 2015
|
|||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Jonathon Griffin | ||
| Date of birth | 14 January 1986 | ||
| Place of birth | Western Australia | ||
| Original team | Karoonda JFC | ||
| Draft | No. 21, 2005 rookie draft | ||
| Position(s) | Ruckman | ||
| Career highlights | |||
|
|||
Jonathon Griffin, born on January 14, 1986, is a former professional Australian rules footballer. He played as a ruckman for two teams in the top league, the AFL. These teams were the Adelaide Football Club and the Fremantle Football Club.
Griffin started his career playing for East Fremantle in Western Australia. He was then picked by Adelaide in the 2005 Rookie Draft. He joined their main team in 2006 and played his first AFL game in 2007. After playing 41 games for Adelaide, he moved to Fremantle in 2010.
Contents
Playing Australian Rules Football
Jonathon Griffin was born in Bunbury, Western Australia. When he was 10, his family moved to Perth. He went to Booragoon Primary School and Applecross Senior High School. He played junior football for Karoonda JFC.
Adelaide picked him from East Fremantle in the 2005 Rookie Draft. He spent 2005 learning as a rookie player. He joined the main team in 2006. However, he mostly played for Central District Bulldogs in the reserves league that year.
Making His AFL Debut
Griffin got his chance to play in the AFL in 2007. This happened because another player, Matthew Clarke, left. Also, Rhett Biglands and Ivan Maric were injured. Even though he was first picked as a forward, Griffin had to play as a ruckman.
Some people thought he was too thin to be a ruckman. But Griffin played well and kept his spot for the first 13 games of 2007. Then, Ivan Maric returned and took his place.
Playing for Adelaide
Griffin started the 2008 AFL season strongly. He played well against other top ruckmen. These included Will Minson, Ben Hudson, Dean Cox, Mark Seaby, Dean Brogan, and Brendon Lade.
In the 2009 AFL season, Griffin only played two games for Adelaide. Other players like Ivan Maric and Kurt Tippett were chosen ahead of him. James Sellar and Brad Moran also played ruckman before him.
Indigenous All-Stars Team
Jonathon Griffin has family roots from the Noongar people. They are an Indigenous group from south-western Australia. Because of this, he was chosen to play for the Indigenous All-Stars team in 2009.
Moving to Fremantle
After moving back to Western Australia, Griffin mostly played as a backup ruckman for Fremantle. He competed for a spot with Zac Clarke and Aaron Sandilands.
Griffin played his first game for Fremantle in 2011. This was in Round 10 against St Kilda. Aaron Sandilands was injured, so Griffin got his chance. He had a great game against Gold Coast in Round 15. He got 26 disposals, 9 marks, 30 hit outs, and scored 2 goals.
Injuries and Later Career
Griffin played the first seven games of the 2013 AFL season. But then he hurt his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his knee. He needed surgery and missed the rest of that season.
He started playing again in April 2014. He played for Fremantle's team in the WAFL, Peel Thunder. Jonathon was part of Peel's first WAFL premiership team in 2016. However, he missed the 2017 Grand Final due to another knee injury.
Fremantle decided not to keep Griffin on their team after the 2017 season.
Retirement from AFL
After leaving Fremantle, Jonathon went back to the WAFL in 2018. He signed a two-year deal with East Fremantle and became their captain.
After playing three seasons with East Fremantle, Griffin announced he would retire at the end of the 2020 season. He played a total of 97 AFL games and scored 36 goals in his career.
See also
- List of AFL debuts in 2007
- List of Adelaide Football Club players
- List of Fremantle Football Club players
Images for kids
-
Griffin playing with Fremantle in 2015
-
Griffin (#12) competing in a ruck contest in March 2016
