Ben Griffiths has revealed a return to football fundamentals was the catalyst for him producing the best performance of his seven-season AFL career with Richmond, against Sydney at the MCG last Saturday night.
Griffiths, playing just his 52nd senior league game, had a career-high 20 disposals and kicked a career-high five goals in Richmond’s gripping one-point win.
The talented Tiger ‘tall’ was omitted from the senior side following the Round 2 loss to Collingwood, but returned to the senior line-up for the Round 7 clash with Hawthorn after some impressive form at VFL level.
He went back to the basics in a bid to turn his form around, and it’s starting to pay dividends.
“I just had to worry about getting to the contest and winning them,” Griffiths told Triple M.
“For me, it’s all about the contest.
“That’s all I’m worried about, and then everything goes from there.”
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick was delighted with Griffiths’ breakout game against the Swans, and is hopeful he can parlay it into something significant in his league career.
“It’s great reward for him,” Hardwick said.
“He’s been up and down.
“The kid’s got ability, there’s no doubt about that.
“He can do some things that not many other players can.
“It’s the consistency level we’re looking for. It’s what he does with this game that’s really important.
“He can either rest on his laurels, and that can be the best game he can ever play, or he can continue to work hard and be the player we all think he can.”
Griffiths’ Tiger teammate Shane Edwards shared Hardwick’s sentiments about the huge potential of ‘Big Ben’.
“We’ve seen him do some amazing things at training and in patches in games. You’re like, far out, imagine if he just did this all the time!,” Edwards said on ‘ABC Grandstand’.
“He’s a confidence player. He’s an introvert, so you need to get him out of himself.
“When he does he’s a freak athlete, and he can kick some big goals as well. He’s got a huge kick.
“So, keeping his confidence up is fairly important, I reckon.”
