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Leeds Rhinos: Griffin ready to make his mark INTERVIEW
New Leeds Rhinos arrival Darrell Griffin is backing himself to hold down a place in the Super League champions’ hotly-contested front row.
Griffin had to settle for the No 20 jersey following his off-season move from Huddersfield Giants, but has pledged to prove that he belongs in Rhinos’ weekly 17 – despite strong competition.
“That’s obviously my goal,” said Oxford-born Griffin, who spent four seasons at Wakefield Trinity Wildcats before joining Huddersfield in 2007.
“There’s a lot of front-rowers here and a lot of good front-rowers at that, so I have got to put my best foot forward in the trials and show that I am good enough to get into the 17 each week.
Goal
“I am not looking any further than a week at a time. My goal at the moment is to get into the 17 for Rob Burrow’s testimonial game, then it will be to get in the team to play Hull KR in the first league match.
“I haven’t set any goals for the season, it is just week on week – to get into the team, play well and make sure I am doing the right things for the team.”
Griffin and fellow recruit Richard Moore have effectively replaced props Ben Cross and Luke Burgess, who both left midway through last season.
Kylie Leuluai and Jamie Peacock are the men in possession of the shirts after starting in the 2011 Grand Final win over St Helens. Ryan Bailey and Ian Kirke were both on the bench that day and youngsters Brad Singleton and Luke Ambler are also hovering in the background.
“I am sure they have got me here for a reason,” Griffin said. “Without bigging myself up, I am pretty confident in my ability and what I can bring to the club.
“At the end of the day, anything can happen. As long as I fit into how Brian (coach Brian McDermott) wants me to play, I’m sure I will be in with a shout.
“It is a gamble going into any team, but I have faith in my ability and how I will fit in here.”
The settling-in process is continuing this week during Rhinos’ warm-weather training camp in Cyprus.
The whole squad is together for the first time after Rhinos’ Four Nations contingent – plus the final batch of foreign players – reported in to begin pre-season training a week ago.
“It’s good to have the England lads back and all the overseas boys,” Griffin said. “For me it is a good opportunity to start again with them, to learn about the sort of things they like and how they want me to play off them.
“It is good for a bit of team-bonding and I feel I am settling in really well.
“I love the club and it’s a great place to be. It is very professional and all the lads are a great bunch.
“I can’t speak highly enough of the place and I am really enjoying myself.”
Griffin is unlikely to feature in Rhinos’ next pre-season game, away to York City Knights on Sunday, but McDermott is expected to field a full-strength line-up in Rob Burrow’s testimonial game at home to Featherstone Rovers the following Friday.
That could be Griffin’s only other warm-up match ahead of the new season, following the Boxing Day run-out against Wakefield Trinity Wildcats.
Leeds do have two more games after the Featherstone fixture. A second-string side will visit Hunslet Hawks in the Lazenby Cup on Sunday, January 22 and Rhinos are to send a team to Whitehaven on January 29, five days before the Super League season begins.
After an initial run on Boxing Day, Griffin feels he is well on track towards being match fit when the season starts.
“I enjoyed it,” he said of his first appearance in blue and amber. “I got 60-odd minutes which is not bad for a first run-out. I was pretty happy with that and it gave me something to work on.
“We had a fair few lads missing against Wakefield and everybody’s timing was a bit out on a couple of things, but it was a decent start.”
Meanwhile, Leeds-born former Rhinos utility-player Jordan Tansey has signed for York City Knights on a one-year deal.
Tansey, who has also played for Sydney Roosters, Hull, Dewsbury Rams and Crusaders, is set to make his debut in Sunday’s trial game against Leeds at Huntington Stadium.
York have also signed former Leeds academy forward Brooke Broughton on dual-registration, along with his Warrington Wolves club-mate Ben Hellewell.
Both players are also expected to play on Sunday.
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