Richmond forward Ben Griffiths has quit the AFL to pursue an American football punting career
RICHMOND key forward Ben Griffiths has announced his retirement from the AFL to pursue an American football punting career after earning a four-year scholarship at a US university.
RICHMOND key forward Ben Griffiths has quit the AFL to pursue a career as a punter in America.
Griffiths has received a four-year scholarship at the University of Southern California.
The 26-year-old will become the third former AFL player to pursue a punting career in the US in a matter of months, joining former teammate Ben Lennon and ex-Saint Arryn Siposs.
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“This was a difficult decision to make, but ultimately the opportunity was too good to refuse,” Griffiths said.
“It certainly wasn’t something I had been contemplating and only arose two weeks ago.
“It was tough telling my teammates and coaches this morning but they understand and support my decision.
“I’ll always be grateful for the opportunity to play AFL football and it was an honour to represent the Richmond Football Club.”
Griffiths played just two matches for the Tigers this season after battling concussion issues before returning late in the season to feature in the club’s VFL finals campaign.
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His AFL career was marred by other injuries, including shoulder problems.
The 200cm key forward will leave a hole in the Tigers’ key position stocks, with premiership full forward Jack Riewoldt now the only experienced key forward on the list.
Richmond admits it was shocked by his retirement.
“This is a great opportunity for Ben and we thank him for his service over the past eight years,” football boss Neil Balme said.
“It came as a shock when Ben made the announcement on Thursday morning.
“Coming in to season 2018, we expected Ben to put together a strong pre-season and again feature as a forward target for us.
“However, we understand this opportunity was too good for him to say no to and we support his decision.
“Ben is a naturally talented athlete and I have no doubt he will quickly adapt to American football.”
Griffiths played 63 career games in eight seasons with Richmond.
The Tigers had long chased Lion-turned-Bulldog Josh Schache before pulling out of the race for the former No.2 draft pick ahead of last year’s trade period.
The club boosted its tall stocks heading into 2018 by selecting forward/ruckman Callum Coleman-Jones with pick 20, key defender Noah Balta (pick 25), and ruckman Ben Miller (pick 63) in November’s national draft.
Originally published as Richmond forward Ben Griffiths has quit the AFL to pursue an American football punting career