Ryan Griffin's Group 10 premier player-of-the-year stocks continue to rise after the diminutive hooker produced another man-of-the-match performance to headline Orange CYMS' 10-point defeat of Bathurst St Pat's on Sunday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Already among the front-runners for Group 10's highest individual honour, Griffin scored three of CYMS' five tries in the 32-22 victory and absolutely ran riot around the ruck, making no less than half a dozen line breaks from dummy-half.
By his count the hat-trick takes his 2019 try-scoring tally to 21 and inspired a victory that leaves CYMS just one point adrift of the top five, the green and golds made up a point on fifth-placed Cowra, who drew with Mudgee on Saturday afternoon.
It's going to take an upset or two for us to make that top five but the belief's there.
- CYMS hooker Ryan Griffin
Griffin did come from the field with around 10 minutes to play but it was largely a precautionary measure.
Although he did admit he's carrying a shoulder niggle, has been for some time, the decision was based on being fit for season-defining match-ups with Mudgee and Hawks in the final fortnight of the regular season.
"I've been carrying a niggle since about the rep round but it's not enough to keep me out of any games, coming off was just precautionary," Griffin said, that shoulder issue making his efforts in 2019 all the more impressive.
"I've had a pretty handy season try-scoring wise, for sure, which is a nice positive in a pretty tough year so far but it's not an individual game, is it?
"That one certainly wasn't what you'd call pretty but it's a win and it gets us closer. It's going to take an upset or two for us to make that top five but the belief's there and when we do get it right, complete and stick with it we can run with anyone.
- Are you a Western Advocate subscriber? Then why not CLICK HERE and join our new Central West Sports Subscribers Facebook group?
"It's just a matter of doing those things consistently."
St Pat's were the better of the two sides in the opening half although CYMS still held a narrow, 12-10 lead at the half-time break, thanks to Griffin's first try, a long-range one that came completely against the run of play.
The Saints were leading 10-6 and after forcing a repeat set halfback Tom Clyburn went in search of another, but his grubber landed in Ethan Bereyne's bread basket and the hulking second-rower showed surprising pace to go 70 metres himself before dishing to Griffin to finish.
On Bereyne, he continued his rich vein of form with another barnstorming performance with ball in hand on the right edge, although the Saints did score four of their five tries down that side.
With another long-range effort Griffin scored his second directly after the break to extend CYMS' lead.
He found space around the ruck after a quick play-the-ball from Damon Goolagong, went 50 untouched and then brushed off two would-be cover defenders to dive over.
Luke Petrie's conversion pushed CYMS' lead to 18-10 before St Pat's hit back when rookie winger Alex Knight scored his second of the afternoon.
Griffin and Knight completed their hat-tricks by trading tries in the 52nd and 55th minutes, respectively, before Travis Adelerhof scored a long-range four-pointer of his own.
Keep up to date with the latest sports news by clicking here.
After safely fielding a swirling Clyburn bomb Adelerhof busted through some flimsy chasing defence and showed his speed, sprinting 80 metres to score.
Petrie nailed the shot and kicked a penalty goal 18 out from full-time as well after a Griffin line-break and chip-and-chase was squashed by a shoulder charge, extending CYMS' lead to 14 at 32-18.
The Saints had the last say in the 80th minute when Chris Kirby scored a consolation try, although lock Mickey Hawkings - who was superb in the middle, as was Zac Merritt - missed his rare opportunity slot a conversion.
Knight gave both his side's star forwards a nod after the game, too.
"All the boys were good in the middle there, they made us good metres we probably just couldn't capitalise as much as we should've," Knight said, he's expected to finish the regular season in premier league before dropping back to first division for the finals.
"It was a pretty good day for me even though we didn't get the result, I've been absolutely loving it out there, it was only my second game of premier league and it's been really good to have a crack and get that experience.
"I'll go back down to reggies for the finals so hopefully I can learn a bit more up here in the next couple of weeks and take that back with me."
ORANGE CYMS 32 (Ryan Griffin 3, Damon Goolagong, Travis Adelerhof tries; Luke Petrie 5 goals, penalty goal) defeated ST PAT'S 22 (Alex Knight 3, Garry Reilly, Chris Kirby tries; Traie Merritt goal)
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
