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Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | (1991-01-17)17 January 1991 (age 34) Glen Innes, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 178 cm (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 94 kg (14 st 11 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Hooker, Lock | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source:[1] As of 20 May 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Slade Griffin (born 17 January 1991) is a formerNew Zealand internationalrugby league footballer. His positions werehooker andlock. He is currently the head coach of theNew Zealand Warriors in theNRL Women's Premiership.[2]
He previously played for theMelbourne Storm and theNewcastle Knights in theNRL. He won the2017 NRL Grand Final withMelbourne. He played 1 game for the New Zealand kiwis before suffering a career ending knee injury the following weekend.
Born inGlen Innes, Australia, Griffin grew up inGreymouth, New Zealand.[3] He was educated atGreymouth High School.
Griffin played his junior rugby league for theCobden-Kohinoor Keas, before being signed by theMelbourne Storm.
From 2009 to 2011, Griffin played for the Melbourne Storm'sNYC team, scoring 13 tries in 46 appearances,[4][5] before graduating to the Storm'sNew South Wales Cup team,Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in 2012.
In a 2012 pre-season trial match, he tore theanterior cruciate ligament in his right knee,[6] ruling him out for the rest of the season, however the Storm decided to extend his contract for another year allowing him to come back from injury.[7]
In round 1 of the2013 NRL season, Griffin made hisNRL debut for the Storm against theSt. George Illawarra Dragons.[8][9]
In June, he re-signed with the Storm on a 1-year contract until the end of 2014.[10] He went on to play 11 NRL games in his debut season.[11]
In March, Griffin re-signed with the Storm on a 2-year contract until the end of 2016.[12] In April during a New South Wales Cup game, he tore his anterior cruciate ligament for a second time, this time in his left knee,[6] stopping him from playing any NRL games in the 2014 season.[13] In July, he received a two match suspension from the NRL after being found to have placed a bet on NRL matches.[14]
In April while playing in anIntrust Super Cup game for theSunshine Coast Falcons, Griffin suffered a third anterior cruciate ligament injury, the second in his left knee, which would again rule him out for the season without playing any NRL matches.[6]
After 1056 days since his last NRL match, Griffin returned to the Storm line-up in round 15 of the2016 season, starting at hooker.[7][15] In October, he re-signed with the Storm on a 1-year contract until the end of 2017.[16]
In 2017, Griffin was able to break into Melbourne's line-up more regularly, coming off the interchange bench in their2017 NRL Grand Final win over theNorth Queensland Cowboys.[17] He finished the season having played in 14 NRL matches.[18] Two days after the grand final, he signed a 2-year contract with theNewcastle Knights starting in 2018, in a bid for more first-grade opportunity withAustraliancaptainCameron Smith ahead of him for the startinghooker position at the Storm.[19]
In round 1 of the2018 season, Griffin made his debut for the Knights in their 19-18golden point extra-time win over theManly Warringah Sea Eagles, scoring a try.[20] In June, he made his international debut forNew Zealand againstEngland inDenver, Colorado.[21] Just a week later, while playing for the Knights in their round 16 clash against theCanterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, he was passing the ball fromdummy half and his leg got caught in a position which ruptured multiple ligaments in his left knee, including a rupturedanterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee graft, ruptured lateral ligament and torn lateral meniscus.[22] This would be his third ACL knee injury to his left knee and meant he faced a 9-12 month recovery period.[22]
While working as a trainer and coach for the Knights during the 2019 season, Griffin ultimately didn't make it back from his knee injury, departing the club at the end of the season.[23]
In July 2020, Griffin was announced as the new coach of theNew Zealand WarriorsNRL Women's (NRLW) team.[2]
Griffin currently studies a Bachelor of Property and Real Estate atDeakin University.[24]