Griffin, Rodney

Rodney GRIFFIN [Player Stats]


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PNG star comes into Cowboys' calculations
Sat November 1, 2008
by Josh Alston
Source: www.townsvillebulletin.com.au

PAPUA New Guinea utility Rodney Griffin could play himself into calculations to train with the Cowboys in 2009 with another strong performance against New Zealand on the Gold Coast tonight.

The PNG-born, Atherton-raised forward moved to the Northern Pride towards the end of the 2008 season following a stint at the Wests Tigers in reserve grade and exploded into white-hot form.

He trailed off with some ordinary showings in the the Pride's finals appearances but played himself back into form in PNG's battle with England last weekend.

And with the Cowboys looking to expand their depth in the second-row, Cowboys coach Neil Henry said Griffin would be one of a number of Queensland Cup players who will be looked at to train with the first grade squad in 2009.

"The (Cowboys) squad's pretty well settled, I think we've probably got a bit of a spot there maybe for a second-rower and maybe for an outside back as well," he said.

"He may (come into consideration), he's been in our system before - we had him on scholarship - and he's been through and he's moved away and he's come back again.

"Certainly anyone that's playing good football for the Pride or playing for the Cutters comes into consideration.

"We'll be sending players north and south and keeping tabs on those players as well and it's a strong competition the Queensland Cup.

"So we'll look at anyone who's playing good football up there.

Griffin put in a tireless performance at lock for PNG last weekend with a solid defensive display and an aggressive show of speed and strength, earning the Kumuls their first try of the game.

Pride coach Andrew Dunemann said that game highlighted what the former Wests Tigers reserve-grader was capable of.

"He started off enormous for us in the first four or five games and then went off the boil for the last three games," he said.

"But he played the other night like he played in those first four or five games.

"He's definitely got the talent there, he just needs to use it more regularly."

Griffin has been named at five-eighth for PNG in their clash with New Zealand tonight.

The game is a must-win for both teams in their bid to make it into the finals from the `pool of death' which includes Australia and England as well.

The game will be played at Skilled Stadium on the Gold Coast and there will be a delayed telecast at 9.40pm.

Source: www.townsvillebulletin.com.au

WORLD CUP LINKS
Home Page: http://worldcup.rleague.com
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Live Scores & Stats: http://live.rleague.com
Match Forums: http://forums.rleague.com/forumdisplay.php?f=71
Forum: http://forums.rleague.com/forumdisplay.php?f=77
Ticket Information: http://www.rlwc08.com/schedule
TV Schedule: http://www.rlwc08.com/Broadcast

UPCOMING MATCHES
Sat 1 Nov: Fiji v France at Win Stadium, Wollongong, 5:25pm (Local Time)
Venue | Tickets | Stats | Reports | Forum

Sat 1 Nov: New Zealand v Papua New Guinea at Skilled Stadium, Robina - Gold Coast, 6:55pm (Local Time)
Venue | Tickets | Stats | Reports | Forum

Sun 2 Nov: Australia v England at Telstra Dome, Melbourne, 7:55pm (Local Time)
Venue | Tickets | Stats | Reports | Forum

RESULTS THUS FAR
England 32 d Papua New Guinea 22 - Stats | Reports | Forum
France 36 d Scotland 18 - Stats | Reports | Forum
Australia 30 d New Zealand 6 - Stats | Reports | Forum
Tonga 22 d Ireland 20 - Stats | Reports | Forum
Samoa 20 d Tonga 12 - Stats | Reports | Forum

====================================================================================================== 2010 Four Nations Test Series Papua New Guinea 3 games; [View] Round 1 [24 Oct 10] L 0-42 v Australia (A). [SR] [View] Round 2 [30 Oct 10] L 12-76 v New Zealand (A). [SR] [View] Round 3 [06 Nov 10] L 10-36 v England. [SR] ====================================================================================================== 2008 World Cup Papua New Guinea 3 games; 1 tries, 4 points. [View] Pool A [25 Oct 08] L 22-32 v England. [LK] 4 Pts; 1t [View] Pool A [01 Nov 08] L 6-48 v New Zealand. [LK] [View] Pool A [09 Nov 08] L 6-46 v Australia. [LK] ======================================================================================================

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