Ryan Griffen vs Lance Franklin...its not over

[anfo27]

Re: Ryan Griffen vs Lance Franklin...its not over

Griff if he puts it all together is without doubt a superstar of the competition but IMO will never surpass Franklin. Just love the way he breaks multiple tackles with a shrug of the hips, rare quality. Just hope the rumours of him wanting to go home are hogwash.

[yeah_sampson]

Re: Ryan Griffen vs Lance Franklin...its not over

Lets hope that he IS NOT the next Nathan Buckley! A weak old hack that says the most ridiculous statements in the media that never won a hard ball and Never won a Grand Final!!!

[BulldogBelle]

Re: Ryan Griffen vs Lance Franklin...its not over

I think every player on the list has either been trade bait or retirement certainty at some stage this season.

Personally he was never on the table and I thought it was super harsh to judge a guy coming off a 3 week injury straight into the finals. Was always going to be caught for pace.

We wont be trading anyone who doesnt want to go I imagine

Hahn, Griff, Gia, Cross (all been floated as trade bait)....all want to stay with the group, and I would say that all of the players will have unfinished business after 08/09, that they will want to continue with their mates into 2010

Everitt, I'm not sure about, but yeah, he is trade flavour of the week

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Re: Ryan Griffen vs Lance Franklin...its not over

Franklin is a once in a lifetime type player but Griffen has the ability to become the best midfielder in the competition, absolutely no doubt about it. That's why supporters get so frustrated with Griff when he doesn't play like he can. He's been judged harshly by the entire football community this year and he responded incredibly with two huge finals. The '06-'07' Ablett comparison is on the money too. Griff's improved his overall game this year (defensive/contested) and I hope he can build a bigger engine again to really stamp his ability on the AFL competition in 2010.

It hasn't been an easy year for him at all, either. The passing of his father clearly knocked him around quite a lot, and he's had to deal with a lot of expectation. He's still got plenty of room to improve and that's potentially very scary for 15 other clubs. Can you imagine Cooney (08' injury free form) and Griff at his absolute best supported by Boyd and Higgins? It'd be better than West Coast's midfield of 05-06.

It will be very interesting to see how Griff tackles the upcoming pre-season. Hopefully he'll come back fresher and hungrier after what's been a difficult year.

In relation to the thread, because of our needs, Franklin will always be the pick of the two though. The thing about Buddy is that he can push into the midfield and run rings around the opposition in there. I've never really seen a player like Buddy at all before, and he too has room to improve. His season was depicted as rather average but he still booted 67 goals on the back of a disgruntled pre-season. Franklin at his best - no defender will come close to stopping him. He's going to ensure Hawthorn will be difficult to beat for the next 7-10 years.

I hope Griff can take the next step, though. Having two potential Top 5 midfielders in the comp would be handy.

[westbulldog]

Re: Ryan Griffen vs Lance Franklin...its not over

I saw Ryan Griffin play his first game against the West Coast Eagles at Subiaco. My opinion was that he was a "potentially elite" player. That view hasn't changed and I think he is at the stage where he can become one of the competion's best on-ballers in 2010.

[azabob]

Re: Ryan Griffen vs Lance Franklin...its not over

Lets hope that he IS NOT the next Nathan Buckley! A weak old hack that says the most ridiculous statements in the media that never won a hard ball and Never won a Grand Final!!!

The only thing ridiculous is your statement. Couldn't be further from the truth on both accounts.
Brad Johnson would give anything to be able to lead the Bulldogs into 2 grand finals, just like Buckley did for Collingwood.

[MrMahatma]

Re: Ryan Griffen vs Lance Franklin...its not over

Needs to improve his kicking. Could've and should've won us the game on Friday.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Ryan Griffen vs Lance Franklin...its not over

Franklin is a once in a lifetime type player

I would add 'potentially' to that statement. He's had one breakout season, but nothing else so far. Sure, he kicked a few goals this year, but no more than any of Fev, Brown et al., and 'once-in-a-lifetime' is a very lofty label.

He definitely has the talent to become that, but at this stage, he's not there yet, and with his well-documented off-field dramas and lack of discipline/application, there's no guarantee that he'll ever get there. If anything, a dramatic fall-from-grace seems as (or more) likely than any possibility of sustained brilliance.

'One-season-wonder' sits more comfortably on his shoulders for now.

[Topdog]

Re: Ryan Griffen vs Lance Franklin...its not over

Disagree with the last statement. That kind of statement implies that he only had 1 good year. So far he has only had 1 fantastic year but 2 very very good years.

[azabob]

Re: Ryan Griffen vs Lance Franklin...its not over

BUMP

I orginally went to look for a thread where people were certain Cooney would stay and Griffen would go to Gold Coast, but now since Harbrow has improved Griffen will stay and Harbrow will go.

BUT this thread could be much more fun.

Its fair to say most football watchers would have Griffen ahead of Franklin in 2010.

Is Franklin injured or lazy or getting beating due to the Hawks midfield performing poorly?

[Topdog]

Re: Ryan Griffen vs Lance Franklin...its not over

BUMP

I orginally went to look for a thread where people were certain Cooney would stay and Griffen would go to Gold Coast, but now since Harbrow has improved Griffen will stay and Harbrow will go.

BUT this thread could be much more fun.

Its fair to say most football watchers would have Griffen ahead of Franklin in 2010.

Is Franklin injured or lazy or getting beating due to the Hawks midfield performing poorly?

Could be a combo of all 3. 1 thing is for sure he has lost a lot of pace and is trying to out muscle the defenders a lot more. He is losing when he does it to guys like Lake.

[KT31]

Re: Ryan Griffen vs Lance Franklin...its not over

BUMP

I orginally went to look for a thread where people were certain Cooney would stay and Griffen would go to Gold Coast, but now since Harbrow has improved Griffen will stay and Harbrow will go.

BUT this thread could be much more fun.

Its fair to say most football watchers would have Griffen ahead of Franklin in 2010.

Is Franklin injured or lazy or getting beating due to the Hawks midfield performing poorly?

Could be some bad gear.

[Mofra]

Re: Ryan Griffen vs Lance Franklin...its not over

Is Franklin injured or lazy or getting beating due to the Hawks midfield performing poorly?

I think his approach this year is all wrong.

He tore teams apart as a leading forward in 08. He's added weight and now seems content to try and wrestle one on one to mark. It's not his strength and against a player such as Lake, he'll be cut up.
If he played to his strengths (speed for his size) he'd be a force again, but until then he'll just be a "fairly good" tall forward.

[Bornadog]

Re: Ryan Griffen vs Lance Franklin...its not over

Griffen has really gone ahead of Franklin this year. I watched the last quarter of the Hawks v Tigers match and Franklin was beaten by a hack Tiger player (sorry can't remember his name). As Mofra has said, he seems to be playing a different type of game this year. Maybe the Hawk mids aren't delivering as they they were in 2008.

If Griffen continues with his current form, he could go close to winning the Brownlow.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Ryan Griffen vs Lance Franklin...its not over

Griffen growing to be a top player. Franklin had his moment in the sun, now its time to step aside hehe