Rostyn John Griffiths (born 10 March 1988) is an Australian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a defender or defensive midfielder for

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federat ...

club Mumbai City. Griffiths is a former captain of

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

club

Perth Glory Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues. Founded in 19 ...

. In August 2017 it was announced that Griffiths had signed a lucrative deal as a defensive midfielder for Uzbekistan giants

Pakhtakor Tashkent FC Pakhtakor Tashkent ( uz, Paxtakor futbol klubi) is an Uzbek professional association football, football club, based in the capital city Tashkent, that competes in the Uzbekistan Super League. Pakhtakor literally means "cotton-grower" in Englis ...

in the Uzbek League. One of the most expensive signings in A-League history, the big defending-midfielder has always been a standout player in the A-League. Griffiths is renowned for his ability to break up the opposition's gameplay and being the central figure to his team's build-up play. Griffiths starred for

Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The Ma ...

from 2010 until he moved to Chinese club Guangzhou R&F in 2012. That departure attracted a $1.3 million transfer fee which remains an A-League record.

Club career

Born in

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

, England, Griffiths started his youth career with Australian club

ECU Joondalup Perth RedStar Football Club is an Australian soccer club from Joondalup, Western Australia currently playing in the National Premier Leagues Western Australia and National Premier Leagues WA Women. Their home ground is the RedStar Arena at the J ...

before moving to England to play for Blackburn Rovers where he never made a senior appearance but during the time he spent at Blackburn he joined Gretna on loan in January 2008. where he made his debut for the side against Heart of Midlothian in February.

Accrington Stanley

He signed a one-year deal with Blackburn in January 2008 and was sent on loan to Accrington Stanley for the remainder of his contract.

Adelaide United

On 3 February 2009 he was signed as an injury replacement player by

club Adelaide United. With the initial agreement only covering a four-week stint, there is an option to extend that to a two-year contract. However, it is a permanent deal, and not a loan.

North Queensland Fury

On 2 July 2009, it was announced that Griffiths would join A-League club

North Queensland Fury Northern Fury Football Club was an Australian professional soccer club based in Townsville, Queensland. The club was founded in 2008 and competed in the A-League under the name North Queensland Fury. On 1 March 2011, the club was removed from t ...

for their inaugural season. On 8 August 2009 he started in Fury's first A-league match and scored the Fury's first ever goal in a competitive match against

Sydney FC Sydney Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was fo ...

Guangzhou R&F

On 29 February 2012 it was announced that he had signed for

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...

club

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

for a fee that was undisclosed at the time, but later revealed to be $1.3 million, a record sum for an Australian transfer.

Perth Glory (2014–2015)

On 23 January 2014 it was announced that Griffiths returned to the A-League, signing with

. On 4 December 2014, Griffiths scored his first goal of the 2014–15 season against

in the 84th minute before

Andy Keogh Andrew Declan Keogh (born 16 May 1986) is a former Irish professional footballer who last played as a striker for A-League club Perth Glory. Born in Dublin, Keogh played the first several years of his professional career playing for a number ...

scored in the 86th minute to earn a late 2–1 comeback.

Roda JC

On 26 July 2015, Perth Glory released Griffiths to allow him to sign a two-year deal with newly promoted

Eredivise The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

club

Roda JC Sportvereniging Roda Juliana Combinatie Kerkrade (; Ripuarian: ), also known as Roda JC Kerkrade () or commonly Roda JC or Roda, is a Dutch professional football club based in Kerkrade, Netherlands. Roda JC Kerkrade plays in the Eerste Divisie. ...

. Following struggles for game-time, Griffiths left Roda JC after one season on 19 April 2016.

Perth Glory (2016–2017)

On 24 July 2016, Griffiths returned once more to the A-League, signing a two-year deal with

after trialling with them on their Philippines Tour. On 2 October 2016, he was announced as captain of the club.

Pakhtakor Tashkent

On 1 August 2017, Perth Glory announced that Griffiths would be leaving the club with immediate effect to join Uzbek League side

. Griffiths left Pakhtakor in May 2018, citing family reasons.

Melbourne City

On 19 July 2018, Griffiths signed a two-year deal with Melbourne City, joining the club well before the start of the 2018–19 season.

Mumbai City

In July 2022, Mumbai City announced the signing of Griffiths from sister club Melbourne City, on a one-yeal deal. On 18 August, he made his debut for the club against

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...

in the Durand Cup, which ended in a 4–1 win.

International career

Griffiths has played for Australia's National under 17 team, and scored a brace on his debut against

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

. While he was still playing for Blackburn, he was courted by Wales' national teams, due to a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

link on his Grandfather's side but, at that point, had not yet decided on his international allegiance.

Personal life

His younger brother, Brent Griffiths is also a professional footballer who last played for

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...

in the Malaysia Super League. The brothers were together, during their stints in the youth set up of English Premier League side, Blackburn Rovers.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Central Coast Mariners * A-League Premiership: 2011–12 Melbourne City *

Premiership:

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

, 2021–22 *

Championship:

Mumbai City *

Premiership:

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

Australia U-17 * OFC U-17 Championship:

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, Rostyn 1988 births Living people Australian men's soccer players Australia men's youth international soccer players English men's footballers English emigrants to Australia Men's association football midfielders Adelaide United FC players Accrington Stanley F.C. players Gretna F.C. players Northern Fury FC players Central Coast Mariners FC players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Guangzhou City F.C. players Perth Glory FC players Roda JC Kerkrade players Pakhtakor Tashkent FK players A-League Men players Chinese Super League players Scottish Premier League players English Football League players Eredivisie players Australian expatriate men's soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in China Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Soccer players from Perth, Western Australia