Can Ben Griffiths fill the hole in Richmond's attack? Garry Lyon
The Age
April 10, 2015 - 12:50PM Richmond aren't going to seriously contend for a premiership unless they provide Jack Riewoldt with a legitimate, tall, key-position running mate in the forward half of the ground.
Damien Hardwick has tried to share the scoring load as best he can, given the resources at his disposal, to the point that Riewoldt has spent increasing amounts of time as anything but their focal point when they go forward.
But, as was proved again in the opening round of the season, Jack is at his most dangerous when he is roaming the forward 50 and hitting the scoreboard. The fact that he got support from Sam Lloyd was encouraging, and Trent Cotchin, Brett Deledio, Shane Edwards and Dustin Martin will all make meaningful contributions along the way, but the most encouraging sign to come out of the win over Carlton was the continued emergence of Ben Griffiths as the partner in crime Riewoldt, and Richmond, so desperately crave.
It's fair to say Griffiths hasn't exploded on to the scene in the manner of Jeremy Cameron, Buddy Franklin or Jarryd Roughead. He has had issues with injuries and consistency, and has oscillated between defence and attack, with cameo appearances in the ruck.
He has both teased and titillated as a footballer, who, at 200 centimetres and 101 kilograms, with athleticism and the ability to take pack marks and kick prodigious distances, would seem genetically predisposed to provide far more than he has delivered.
And that is a problem that many clubs have had to, and continue to, wrestle with when faced with decisions on key-position forwards who promise plenty but deliver below expectation.
The competition is littered with such players. Liam Jones, Levi Casboult, Rhys Stanley, Jesse White, Shaun McKernan, Shane Kersten, Josh Walker, Jack Fitzpatrick, Cameron Pederson, John Butcher, Tom Lee, Jarrad Grant,
Griffiths once sat in this pack and, to be honest, hasn't done enough to ensure that, after a quiet month, he won't be quickly reinstated. And there is some irony in the fact that while he maintains his position in the side, he is keeping Tyrone Vickery out, one of the poster boys for big forwards who, despite plenty of opportunity, haven't been able to marry potential with performance on a consistent basis.
Vickery has been supported at Richmond, yet there comes a time when a decision has to be made on just how long you persevere with someone in, admittedly the most difficult position to play, and when you look elsewhere.
The fact that so many of the above-mentioned players have been given another chance at a second AFL home tells you how desperate clubs are to fill this critical role. Carlton appear to have put their faith in Jones to become the player that he wasn't able to be at the Bulldogs. The reasonable question to be asked is why Jones couldn't maintain his position in a side, such as the Bulldogs, who were so bereft of key forwards.
Similarly, Collingwood continue to maintain hope that Jesse White can produce the consistency that will allow him to free Travis Cloke, a role that Quentin Lynch, another journeyman key forward, was unable to fulfil. Patience is a virtue, but it eventually runs out.
The promising thing for Richmond is that Griffiths' curve has been ever-so-steadily on the rise. Sixteen games last year and glimpses of what he is capable of. And last Thursday he built on that momentum and produced a three-goal performance that helped steer the Tigers out of a potentially sticky predicament.
What we await is whether Griffiths has arrived and is ready to make the centre half-forward position his own, or is he just visiting on the way through to mediocrity. Maybe with some continuity in his football, his best is yet to come.
He does have a presence as a key forward, and that is half the battle. It's not a Wayne Carey-like presence at the moment but it will build as his teammates gain more confidence in him, and perhaps he gains more confidence in himself.
Turning those spectacular "nearly" pack marks into contested one-on-one "clunks", swapping those "nearly" 60-metre bombs at goal into solid 45-metre conversions, exposing less mobile opponents by winning ground balls and getting involved in more scoring chains; these are the sort of acts from which presence grows.
One of the key narratives coming out of round one is that success and strong key forwards remain one of the game's non-negotiables. Taylor Walker slaughtered North, Jarryd Roughead followed up his five-goal grand final performance with another imposing display, Buddy and Kurt Tippett got rolling for the Swans when it mattered most, Jeremy Cameron kicked four goals for the Giants, Matthew Pavlich won the game for Freo and young Jesse Hogan helped the Demons to a rare first-round victory.
In Jack Riewoldt, the Tigers have one half of the puzzle well and truly covered. He is a star. In Ben Griffiths they have their best chance of producing a combination that may carry them beyond week one of September.
http://www.smh.com.au/afl/afl-news/can-ben-griffiths-fill-the-hole-in-richmonds-attack-20150410-1mi86g.html
