bornadog
19-02-2007, 11:10 PM
Griffen tips bright future for Bulldogs
19th February 2007, 17:27 WST
Western Bulldogs young gun Ryan Griffen believes the AFL premiership is a realistic goal this year, but says there is plenty of scope to improve.
The Bulldogs' only previous premiership win was in 1954 and last year's elimination final thrashing of Collingwood was the club's first finals victory in eight years.
But Griffen said the emerging crop of Bulldogs had a strong sense of belief about what they could achieve.
Griffen, 20, is one of the youngsters responsible for the building excitement at Whitten Oval, along with fellow 20-year-old Farr en Ray and 21-year-old Adam Cooney.
The three speedy running players played important roles in the club's rise into the top six last year and Griffen said they had high hopes for their combined futures.
"We're all good mates, the whole group's really tight, which is really good," he said.
"Obviously we want to be a really good side and we all want the same thing, so we're working hard together.
"With Faz and Coons and that, being in the same team as them, if we can achieve the highest goal it would be great."
He said there was a belief within the club that a flag was achievable this season.
"We hope so, you don't play to come last, everyone is trying to reach that goal," he said.
"We believe that we want to head that way, so I think we're all heading in the right direction."
But he said it was difficult to predict when the current playing group would be at its peak.
While veterans captain Brad Johnson, 30, and midfielder Scott West, 32, were standouts last season, every other player in the top 10 in the Bulldogs' best and fairest was aged 25 or under, including Griffen and Cooney.
Griffen said that while there was a desire to win a premiership while West and Johnson were still playing, the young players were also looking to develop and fill their roles.
To that end, West has acted as a mentor to Griffen since he entered the AFL.
The 21-year-old said West's advice had been invaluable in his quest to convert from a running defender into a permanent midfielder.
"He works extremely hard but he's also very smart with his running, he knows where to run, where to be, so I'm trying to model myself on him," Griffen said.
"If I run off and sprint halfway down the ground and you don't really have to, he tells me `Look, you don't have to do that, push to the other side of the ground to get the ball'.
"He's always telling me how to work smarter, not harder."
Griffen said developing the stamina to cope with a more demanding workload was the main hurdle he had to overcome to move into the midfield.
"I tend to blow up a fair bit with my running," he said.
"In the midfield you've got to run both ways and this year, or this pre-season, that's what I've been focusing on."
AAP
19th February 2007, 17:27 WST
Western Bulldogs young gun Ryan Griffen believes the AFL premiership is a realistic goal this year, but says there is plenty of scope to improve.
The Bulldogs' only previous premiership win was in 1954 and last year's elimination final thrashing of Collingwood was the club's first finals victory in eight years.
But Griffen said the emerging crop of Bulldogs had a strong sense of belief about what they could achieve.
Griffen, 20, is one of the youngsters responsible for the building excitement at Whitten Oval, along with fellow 20-year-old Farr en Ray and 21-year-old Adam Cooney.
The three speedy running players played important roles in the club's rise into the top six last year and Griffen said they had high hopes for their combined futures.
"We're all good mates, the whole group's really tight, which is really good," he said.
"Obviously we want to be a really good side and we all want the same thing, so we're working hard together.
"With Faz and Coons and that, being in the same team as them, if we can achieve the highest goal it would be great."
He said there was a belief within the club that a flag was achievable this season.
"We hope so, you don't play to come last, everyone is trying to reach that goal," he said.
"We believe that we want to head that way, so I think we're all heading in the right direction."
But he said it was difficult to predict when the current playing group would be at its peak.
While veterans captain Brad Johnson, 30, and midfielder Scott West, 32, were standouts last season, every other player in the top 10 in the Bulldogs' best and fairest was aged 25 or under, including Griffen and Cooney.
Griffen said that while there was a desire to win a premiership while West and Johnson were still playing, the young players were also looking to develop and fill their roles.
To that end, West has acted as a mentor to Griffen since he entered the AFL.
The 21-year-old said West's advice had been invaluable in his quest to convert from a running defender into a permanent midfielder.
"He works extremely hard but he's also very smart with his running, he knows where to run, where to be, so I'm trying to model myself on him," Griffen said.
"If I run off and sprint halfway down the ground and you don't really have to, he tells me `Look, you don't have to do that, push to the other side of the ground to get the ball'.
"He's always telling me how to work smarter, not harder."
Griffen said developing the stamina to cope with a more demanding workload was the main hurdle he had to overcome to move into the midfield.
"I tend to blow up a fair bit with my running," he said.
"In the midfield you've got to run both ways and this year, or this pre-season, that's what I've been focusing on."
AAP