Slade Griffin (born 17 January 1991), is a former

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

international

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer. His positions were and . He is currently the head coach of the

New Zealand Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...

in the

NRL Women's Premiership The Telstra NRL Women's Premiership (NRLW) is Australia's national rugby league competition for female players. The first season of the league began in September 2018 with four teams. The league is run by the National Rugby League (NRL) and is ...

. He previously played for the

Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998. ...

and the

Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, th ...

in the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

(NRL). He won the 2017 NRL Grand Final with

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. He played 1 game for the New Zealand kiwis before suffering a career ending knee injury the following weekend.

Early life

Born in Glen Innes, Australia, Griffin grew up in

Greymouth, New Zealand Greymouth () (Māori language, Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast List of regions in New Zealand, region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The populat ...

. He was educated at

Greymouth High School Greymouth High School is one of two post-primary schools in Greymouth, New Zealand. The other is John Paul II High School. It is the largest school on the West Coast of New Zealand with a roll of students. As of 2021 the principal is Samantha ...

. Griffin played his junior rugby league for the Cobden-Kohinoor Keas, before being signed by the

Playing career

Early career

From 2009 to 2011, Griffin played for the Melbourne Storm's

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team, scoring 13 tries in 46 appearances, before graduating to the Storm's

New South Wales Cup The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserve ...

team,

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby leag ...

in 2012. In a 2012 pre-season trial match, he tore the

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

in his right knee, 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.

2013

In round 1 of the 2013 NRL season, Griffin made his

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

debut for the Storm against the

St. George Illawarra Dragons The St. George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 after a joint-ve ...

. In June, he re-signed with the Storm on a 1-year contract until the end of 2014. He went on to play 11 NRL games in his debut season.

2014

In March, Griffin re-signed with the Storm on a 2-year contract until the end of 2016. 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, stopping him from playing any NRL games in the 2014 season. In July, he received a two match suspension from the NRL after being found to have placed a bet on NRL matches.

2015

In April while playing in an

Intrust Super Cup The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by four ...

game for the

Sunshine Coast Falcons The Sunshine Coast Falcons are a rugby league football team based on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Sunshine Coast. They compete in the Queensland Cup and their home ground is Sunshine Coast Stadium. The Falcons are currently affiliat ...

, 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.

2016

After 1056 days since his last NRL match, Griffin returned to the Storm line-up in round 15 of the 2016 season, starting at hooker. In October, he re-signed with the Storm on a 1-year contract until the end of 2017.

2017

In 2017, Griffin was able to break into Melbourne's line-up more regularly, coming off the interchange bench in their 2017 NRL Grand Final win over the

North Queensland Cowboys The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest town in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Sinc ...

. He finished the season having played in 14 NRL matches. Two days after the grand final, he signed a 2-year contract with the

starting in 2018, in a bid for more first-grade opportunity with

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ahead of him for the starting position at the Storm.

2018

In round 1 of the 2018 season, Griffin made his debut for the Knights in their 19-18

golden point The golden point, a sudden death overtime system, is used to resolve drawn football matches. The term is borrowed from soccer's now-defunct golden goal. Rugby league Australia The golden point is used to determine a winner (where applicable, see ...

extra-time win over the

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...

, scoring a try. In June, he made his international debut for

against

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. Just a week later, while playing for the Knights in their round 16 clash against the

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilita ...

, he was passing the ball from dummy half and his leg got caught in a position which ruptured multiple ligaments in his left knee, including a ruptured

(ACL) knee graft, ruptured lateral ligament and torn lateral meniscus. This would be his third ACL knee injury to his left knee and meant he faced a 9-12 month recovery period.

2019

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.

Coaching career

In July 2020, Griffin was announced as the new coach of the

NRL Women's The Telstra NRL Women's Premiership (NRLW) is Australia's national rugby league competition for female players. The first season of the league began in September 2018 with four teams. The league is run by the National Rugby League (NRL) and is ...

(NRLW) team.

Personal life

Griffin currently studies a Bachelor of Property and Real Estate at

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia. Its main campuses are in Melbourne's Burwood suburb, Geelong Waurn Ponds, ...

References

External links

Newcastle Knights profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Slade 1991 births Living people Australian emigrants to New Zealand Australian rugby league players Cobden-Kohinoor players Eastern Suburbs Tigers players Melbourne Storm players New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league players Newcastle Knights players Rugby league hookers Rugby league locks Rugby league players from New South Wales Sunshine Coast Falcons players People educated at Greymouth High School Rugby league players from Greymouth