George Griffin (rugby league)

George Griffin

Personal information
Full name	George Martin Ivor Griffin [1]
Born	(1992-06-26) 26 June 1992 (age 31) Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight	17 st 5 lb (110 kg) [2]
Playing information
Position	Prop, Second-row
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2012–13 Hull Kingston Rovers 20 0 0 0 0 2013(DR) → Gateshead Thunder 3 2 0 0 8 2014 London Broncos 20 1 0 0 4 2015–19 Salford Red Devils 114 23 0 0 92 2015(loan) → Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 5 0 0 0 0 2020– Castleford Tigers 79 6 0 0 24 Total 241 32 0 0 128
Source: [3] [4] As of 15 September 2023

George Griffin (born (1992-06-26)26 June 1992) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop or second-row forward for the Castleford Tigers in the Super League.

He has previously played for Hull Kingston Rovers, the London Broncos, and the Salford Red Devils in the Super League. He has spent time at Gateshead Thunder in the Championship 1 on dual registration from Hull KR, and at the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats in the Super League on loan from Salford.

Background

Griffin was born in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England. He is the younger brother to Josh and Darrell Griffin.

Griffin previously played rugby union while growing up in Oxford, before moving to rugby league alongside his brothers. He played as a junior for Stanley Rangers. ^[2]

In October 2023, working together with former Castleford teammate Bureta Faraimo, Griffin released a children's book titled Harvey Hippo Finds His Talent. ^[5]

Career

Hull Kingston Rovers

Griffin signed for Hull Kingston Rovers on a two-year deal in September 2011. ^[6] He had been playing in Australia for the Queanbeyan Kangaroos, a feeder team to the Canberra Raiders, and was originally set to sign for Crusaders until they withdrew from Super League. ^[6]

Griffin made his Super League debut for Hull KR against the Widnes Vikings on 29 July 2012. ^[7] He went on to make a total of 20 appearances throughout his 2 seasons at Hull KR.

Gateshead Thunder (dual registration)

In 2013, Griffin played for Gateshead Thunder in the Championship 1 through their dual registration agreement with Hull KR. He made 3 appearances and scored 2 tries for the Thunder. ^[3]

London Broncos

In January 2014, it was announced that Griffin had signed for the London Broncos. ^[8] He made 20 appearances and scored 1 try in the 2014 season.

Salford Red Devils

In July 2014, shortly after London's relegation from Super League was mathematically confirmed, Griffin signed a one-year deal to join the Salford Red Devils for 2015. ^[9] He would be joining his older brothers Darrell and Josh who already played for the club. ^[10]

Griffin played alongside both of his brothers for the first time at the 2015 Magic Weekend against the Widnes Vikings, just days after the death of their father. ^[11] He signed a two-year contract extension with Salford in June 2015. ^[12]

In May 2017, Griffin agreed a new two-year contract with Salford, keeping him at the club until the end of 2019. ^[13]

He played in the 2019 Super League Grand Final defeat to St Helens at Old Trafford. ^{[14] [15] [16]}

Griffin made 115 appearances and scored 20 tries during his time at Salford.

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats (loan)

Griffin joined the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats on a one-month loan deal in March 2015, making 5 appearances. ^[17]

Castleford Tigers

In July 2019, Griffin signed a two-year deal to join the Castleford Tigers (Heritage № 996) from 2020. ^[18] Head coach Daryl Powell described him as a "tough hard-working player" with a "first-class work rate and attitude". ^[19]

Griffin was assigned squad number 16 for 2020. ^[20] He made his Castleford debut on 2 February against the Toronto Wolfpack. ^[21] He scored his first try for the club against Hull FC in the 6th round of the Challenge Cup. ^[22]

In May 2021, Griffin extended his contract with the Tigers for a further year. ^[23] On 17 July 2021, he played for Castleford in their 2021 Challenge Cup Final loss against St Helens. ^[24] Griffin played 21 games for Castleford in the Super League XXVIII season as the club finished 11th on the table narrowly avoiding relegation. ^[25]

Club statistics

Appearances and points in all competitions by year

Club	Season	Tier	App	T	G	DG	Pts
Hull Kingston Rovers	2012	Super League	4	0	0	0	0
	2013	Super League	16	0	0	0	0
	Total		20	0	0	0	0
→ Gateshead Thunder (DR)	2013	Championship 1	3	2	0	0	8
London Broncos	2014	Super League	20	1	0	0	4
Salford Red Devils	2015	Super League	19	3	0	0	12
	2016	Super League	32	7	0	0	28
	2017	Super League	25	4	0	0	16
	2018	Super League	13	4	0	0	16
	2019	Super League	25	5	0	0	20
	Total		114	23	0	0	92
→ Wakefield Trinity Wildcats (loan)	2015	Super League	5	0	0	0	0
Castleford Tigers	2020	Super League	14	1	0	0	4
	2021	Super League	17	1	0	0	4
	2022	Super League	26	4	0	0	16
	2023	Super League	22	0	0	0	0
	Total		79	6	0	0	24
Career total			241	32	0	0	128

As of match played 15 September 2023

References

1. Companies House
2. "George Griffin Biography". Castleford Tigers. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
3. RL Record Keepers' Club
4. Rugby League Project
5. "Former Castleford Tigers team-mates link up to release children's book: Harvey Hippo Finds His Talent". Love Rugby League. 23 Oct 2023.
6. "Hull KR sign back-rower George Griffin". BBC Sport. 2011-09-13. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
7. "Super League: Widnes 26-32 Hull Kingston Rovers". BBC Sport. 2012-07-29. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
8. "George Griffin: London Broncos sign Hull KR man as 12 retained". BBC Sport. 2014-01-13. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
9. "Salford Red Devils: George Griffin joins from London Broncos". BBC Sport. 2014-07-17. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
10. "Super League: Josh Griffin pens Salford deal, Red Devils snap up brother George". Sky Sports. 2014-07-18. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
11. Bower, Aaron (2015-05-29). "Griffin brothers to play on despite father's death". TotalRL. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
12. "George Griffin signs Salford contract extension". Sky Sports. 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
13. "George Griffin: Salford Red Devils back row agrees new contract". BBC Sport. 2017-05-19. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
14. "St Helens give Justin Holbrook the perfect send-off with commanding Grand Final victory over Salford". Telegraph. 12 October 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
15. Unwin, Will (12 October 2019). "St Helens 23-6 Salford Red Devils: Super League Grand Final – as it happened". The Guardian.
16. "St Helens win 2019 Super League League Leaders' shield". Sky Sports.
17. "Wakefield sign George Griffin on loan from Salford and Jordan Hand from St Helens". Sky Sports. 2015-03-18. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
18. "George Griffin: Castleford Tigers sign Salford Red Devils forward from 2020 season". BBC Sport. 2019-07-01. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
19. "Tigers confirm Griffin signing". Castleford Tigers. 2019-07-02. Archived from the original on 2020-11-07. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
20. "2020 squad numbers revealed". Castleford Tigers. 2020-01-17. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
21. Hafez, Shamoon (2020-02-02). "Super League: Toronto Wolfpack 10-28 Castleford Tigers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
22. Freeman, Jay (2020-09-13). "Challenge Cup: Castleford Tigers 16-29 Hull FC - Hull book Wigan quarter-final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
23. "George Griffin: Castleford Tigers trigger forward's contract extension until 2022". Sky Sports. 2021-05-26. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
24. "Challenge Cup: St Helens beat Castleford 26-12 for first Wembley victory since 2008". BBC Sport.
25. "Castleford Tigers ace Alex Mellor delivers brutally honest assessment of 'awful' season; 'We've massively underperformed'". www.loverugbyleague.com. 22 September 2023.

External links

• Castleford Tigers profile
• Salford Red Devils profile
• Hull Kingston Rovers profile
• SL profile