Former Western Bulldogs and GWS Giants AFL player Ryan Griffen to play country footy for Goolwa/Port Elliot
Ex-Western Bulldogs captain Ryan Griffen will make his long-awaited country footy senior debut for his hometown team this Saturday when he lines up alongside his two brothers.
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Former Western Bulldogs captain Ryan Griffen will return to his hometown to play for boyhood club Goolwa/Port Elliot this Saturday in his first match since retiring from the AFL.
The 2013 All-Australian and ex-GWS Giants midfielder will line up alongside brothers Trent and Travis when the Magpies host Langhorne Creek at Goolwa Oval in the Great Southern Footy League.
Griffen, who played 257 AFL games across 13 seasons, will also celebrate his 33rd birthday on the same day.
The high-profile recruit signed on at Goolwa/Port Elliot in November but his debut has been delayed.
He injured his back in a trial game for the Magpies against Happy Valley before returning his home in country Victoria for the birth of his child.
Goolwa/Port Elliot president Ryan Bridges said Griffen would give the battling team a big boost.
The Magpies went winless in 2018 and have battled to two wins and 13 losses so far this season.
“We’re just hoping he can get out there, have a kick and catch with his brothers and enjoy his footy,” Bridges said.
“If he’s enjoying his footy, it’s going to be pretty good for the team regardless.
“Early on he was going to play more games than he wasn’t ... but now we’ll just see how he likes it and how the body pulls up.”
Griffen’s brother Travis has come out of retirement this season so the three siblings can pull on the Magpies guernsey on together.
His brother Travis has come out of retirement this season so the three siblings can pull on the Magpies guernsey on together.
The two-time Charlie Sutton Medal winner (Dogs’ best and fairest) came through the juniors at the club.
He then progressed to South Adelaide’s underage sides, SA teams and eventually the AFL, landing at the Bulldogs via pick No.3 in the 2004 national draft.
Griffen’s final AFL match was last season’s second semi-final loss to Collingwood while playing for the Giants.
He is not the only former star coming out of retirement to play country footy in SA.
Former Brownlow Medallist and Port Adelaide and Essendon premiership star Gavin Wanganeen will lace up the boots for Yorke Peninsula side Moonta on August 3.
patrick.keam@news.com.au
