2017 RFNL SEASON

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PLAYER TRANSFERS

IN: Daniel Andreazza (Wollongong Bulldogs), Brent Arho (Tallygaroopna), Cory Barrington (Marong), Jacob Barrington (Koondrook-Barham), Toby Blissett (Jindera), Brendan Knagge (Narrandera), Heath Northey (Wahgunyah), Rocky Perre (Virginia, SA), Luke Shannon (Shepparton Bears), Thomas Valeri (Hillston), Ashley Verhagen (Mooroopna).

OUT: Alex Birch (Croydon), Thomas Clarke (Coleambally), Kieran Ruyg (Queanbeyan).

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BRENT ARHO SIGNS ON WITH GRIFFITH – By Matt Malone

Collingullie-Glenfield Park premiership hero Brent Arho will make a stunning return to the Riverina Football League next season. Arho will again don the red and White but this time with Griffith after signing for the Swans for 2017. Arho was pursued by a number of clubs throughout the Riverina and country Victoria but his friendship with Guy Orton saw him land at the Swans. The 27-year-old arrives at Griffith in hot form after booting 108 goals for Tallygaroopna in the Kyabram League this year. “To be honest, (Orton) got me over the line,”Arho said.

“Ever since I played inter-league with him we got along like a house on fire and we’ve kept in contact. “It sounds like they have a young, up and coming group. (Orton) told me they have just lacked a forward, which got me excited, that I’m the missing piece.” Arho spent the one year at Collingullie in 2014 and helped them to a maiden Riverina League premiership. He kicked 89 goals that year, including a match-winning six in the Demons grand final victory victory. Arho, who will travel to Griffith, cannot wait to return to the Riverina League. “I’m very excited. I really enjoyed my footy playing up there,” he said. “I’m keen to come back up and play some good footy again.” (The Area News – Wednesday November 9, 2016).

PLAYING WITH THE NORTHERN TERRIT0RY'S BEST - By Liam Warren

GARY Argus was given the opportunity to play with one of the best footballers to ever play Australian Rules Football. During a four-year period where he spent his footballing off-season playing in the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) he was given the opportunity to play with Norm Smith Medallist and Richmond legend Maurice Rioli. "During my time playing up there I was given the chance to play in the representative side that took on St Kilda and Essendon," he said. "That experience alone was great but to play with someone like Maurice Rioli was something I look back on fondly."

The NTFL is known as the place where lots of talented country and metro players head to during the off season to maintain fitness and continue their development as footballers.

While playing in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) for Sturt, Argus headed north on four different occasions to take part in the NTFL competition. "Once you move past the fact you are playing in the hottest part of the year it was a great experience," he said. "It was the right time in my life to make the trip north and if given the chance I would do it again."

During the four seasons Argus spent in Darwin, he played 70 games for the Waratahs winning the club best and fairest once as well as finishing runner-up once. He felt during his career he had a fairly good run in terms of time spent on the field with very few injuries picked up during his career. Argus feels this was the main reason that he remained so successful over a long season. He enjoyed a successful career in the competition that saw him selected in the NTFL representative side twice which was coached by Rioli, finished third in the league best and fairest as well as being named as NTFL defender of the year in the 1989/90 season.

Now the defender has a chance to add another accolade to his list after being named in the provisional squad of 40 for the Waratahs' team of the Century. "To even be in consideration for the side with as much prestige as this is just a massive honour," he said. "We get to go back there in January to take part in a ball as part of a government reception at the Northern Territory Parliament House in Darwin. "That will be where the team of 22 is announced as part of the 100 years celebration." Argus spoke highly of the friendly nature of the community saying that he would not hesitate to return to the Northern Territory. (The Area News - Wednesday November 23, 2016).

PAVESE ON BOARD FOR 2017 SEASON

Adrian Pavese will return for a second year in charge of Griffith. Pavese is currently overseeing Greater Western Sydney AFL Women’s team’s pre-season as assistant coach. But after sorting out his commitments with the Giants, Pavese has been able to commit to another season at Griffith. “It’s exciting,” Pavese said. “We obviously had a couple of loose – but with the signing of Brent Arho, good quality local kids coming back like Toby Blissett and Luke Shannon and holding on to 90 percent of our list, things are looking promising. After leading Griffith to their first finals appearance in a decade this year, Pavese wants to go further in 2017. “We want to go deep,” he said. “We definitely don’t want last year to be a one year wonder. We want to be playing finals and want that to be the normal, not the abnormal. “We’ve wrestled that demon to a point and it’s up to the players now, we want to go deep, and really deep.”
Griffith landed the big off-season signing of full-forward Bent Arho, along with Luke Shannon, Jacob Barrington and Toby Blissett. In further good news, experienced defenders Richard Malone and Che Jenkins will return after time off. The club also hopes to bloods a lot of their under 17s premiership team. A big loss will be young ruckman Nathan Richards. He is set to relocate to Sydney in a bid to increase his chances of being drafted at the end of the year. Griffith started pre-season training earlier this month and have averaged 25 on the track under senior assistant coach Will Griggs. Pavese still hopes to add new faces to Griffith's list. "We're still waiting on people blowing into town, which normally happens," he said. "That and working with our premiership 17s that are coming up." (The Area News - December 2, 2016).

PAVESE FULFILS COACHING ASPIRATIONS - By Matt Malone

Greater Western Sydney women's assistant coach Adrian Pavese realised a dream in Adelaide on Saturday. It was a dream come true for the Griffith mentor when he formed part of the Giants' coaching team for the opening round of the inaugural AFL Women's competition. Pavese has spent the past four months working with the Giants girls and told Fairfax Media he couldn't wait for game day against the Crows prior to the match. "Ever since I first started 26 years ago, I wanted to coach AFL footy," Pavese said. "I didn't care how I got there, I just wanted to put myself in a position to better myself. "My title here says AFL coach, it doesn't matter to me that it's women's. "I'm very proud that I've got here, I don't want to stop."
Pavese travels from his Canberra home to spend two nights a week in Sydney at the Giants, plus his game day role. He also is senior coach of Riverina League club Griffith. Pavese said he has thoroughly enjoyed the historic journey to this point. "The girls are jumping out of their skin," he said. "It has come so quick and I think that's a good thing because there has been no time for nerves. "It's been great and the Giants have been unbelievable, with their facilities, as well as the support on and off the field."
Pavese, an experienced coach in women's football, warned AFL fans not to expect too much too soon from the ladies. "They're all chomping at the bit - and they've got no fear, I think that will show up. Some of the collisions will be quite pronounced," he said. "Once the ball gets moving and the girls get space, there will be a lot of run and carry, and good movement. "People are going to need to be patient. You're not going to see scorelines like you do in the men's. What you will probably see is teams in the contest for 90 percent of the game." Unfortunately for Pavese the girls fell 48-12 in the first game against the Adelaide Crows at Threbarton Oval. (The Area News - Monday February 6, 2017).

GUY TAKES REINS OF REP SIDE - By Peter Doherty

Griffith's Guy Orton is honoured to be granted his first representative coaching role, and says his mission is to restore the Riverina League (RFNL) to former glory. After representing the league five times previously, Orton has been named as coach for the game against Canberra at Robertson Oval on May 20. His goal is to see the Riverina League jumper highly sought after as players seek to get the best out of themselves. "I was definitely rapt to get the call on the winners' list for the league,' Orton said, a passionate fan of rep footy, said. "You're testing yourself, and playing at a better level. "I've always thought that it's good to go and play with other people and see how they prepare. "And you learn off them, especially training with them for a couple of weeks prior to the game." Orton has previously coached the Griffith Swans and has had representative playing experience for Loddon Valley in Victoria, where he was captain, and also for NSW.

"I've always put my hand up," he said. "You never know if you're going to be playing footy for a long time, and you want to enjoy it and compare yourself to other people - that's just how I feel." Orton takes over from Coolamon coach Matt Hard who stood down after three years in charge. Hard's time in control included two big wins against Victorian opposition before last's years upset loss to the Hume League. He hopes with some new faces and a good mix of both youth and experience, he can oversee the side's return to where it was a couple of years ago. "That's the one thing that obviously our league's got some good experience, we've got some good players come into this league," he said. "But we've also got some young kids up and coming." RFNL president Rob Ash declared Orton "an outstanding representative person who has a passion for the league." Ash congratulated Hard on his contribution to the RFNL and said the league is committed to making sure Orton has every chance to succeed. (The Area News - Friday March 17, 2017).

GRIFFITH TAKE OUT INAUGURAL YOUTH GIRLS' COMPETITION - By Ben Jaffrey

Wayward kicking couldn't stop Griffith from taking out the MIA Youth Girls' AFL competition a fortnight ago in Leeton. Griffith kicked three goals and 11 behinds but the side's defence was on song to restrict the (Leeton) Redlegs to just one goal and on behind in the 22-point win at McDonald Oval (Showground). The victory completed a perfect season for the Griffith outfit following three wins in the regular rounds. While the defence was tight, Griffith player Jess Conlan said the key to victory was how well the side gelled throughout the year. "I reckon teamwork was a big factor. We all worked together and got us over the line," Conlan said. "We are pretty good throughout the whole field but our defence shut them down." The team has come a long way since game one of the inaugural MIA Youth Girls' AFL season. "At the start of the season, a lot of us didn't really know each other but we got to know each other pretty quickly and started working as a team," Conlan said. With the season done and dusted, the girls will return to playing other winter sports before they get a crack at playing AFL again next year. Conlan said she was "definitely going to play next year" and the rest of the girls were also keen to have another run around in the hope of defending the title.

Griffith results:- Round one: Bye; Round two: Griffith 68 def Narrandera 54, Round three: Griffith 93 def Tigers 14, Round four: Griffith 67 def Penguins 35. Grand final: Griffith 3.11 (29) def Redlegs 1.1 (7). Trevor Richards coached the Griffith girls. (The Area News - April 19, 2017).

PAV WANTS MORE - By Ben Jaffrey

After steering the Swans to their first Riverina League finals appearance in a decade, Griffith director of coaching Adrian Pavese wants more from his side in 2017. "Absolutely, just making finals isn't good enough now, we want to make the finals and go deep," Pavese said. "The goal year one was to re-establish and get back into the hunt, one finals game isn't enough. "We want to get a couple good games of finals footy in and see how we work it out from there." It all starts this Saturday at the Exies Oval when the Swans take on rivals Leeton-Whitton. Pavese isn't daunted by taken on last year's grand finalist but instead felt it was the perfect way to start the season. "It's probably ideal for us to be playing Leeton at this time of year," Pavese said. "No disrespect to Turvey Park, we played Turvey Park last year (first up) who were having issues, but Saturday night, we get to play a side that's tipped to be the premiers. "It will give us an early indication on how we're tracking."
The Swans have had minimal losses with Alex Birch and Nathan Richards the key outs from the 2016 squad. To counteract the losses, Griffith went on the offensive with its recruitment with Brent Arho, Luke Shannon, Heath Northey, Ash Verhagen , Richard Malone and Jacob Barrington to run out in the red and white in 2017. The return of Shannon to the club along with Toby Blissett - who returned in 2016 - sees the first grade squad dominated by locals which excited Pavese the most. "Not only we've brought players back, we've brought players back that are former juniors," Pavese said. "Come round one this Saturday night, we could have anywhere up to 15 local juniors running out, that's really exciting for the footy club." (The Area News - Friday April 21, 2017).

MCG DREAM REALISED - By Ben Jaffrey

KICKING a goal at the MCG. It's every junior AFL player's dream and Nathan Richards can tick it off his bucket list. The goal came after the Griffith Swans junior initially missed a shot at achieving the milestone while playing in the green and gold for the AIS-AFL Under 18s side. "That was an unbelievable feeling," Richards said of the goal. "I had a set shot from out on the wing but ended up missing, I was filthy. "But to get a second chance and kick a nice little snap was amazing. Not that there were many people in the crowd but I can only imagine what they would be like." Richards made the move to Sydney this year to progress his AFL career and has gone from strength to strength. Along with matches with the national under 19s side - the squad played a match against each other and against VFL side the Northern Blues - Richards played his first North East Australian Football League match for the year for GWS over the weekend and also turns out for the Giants in the Under 18s Academy Series alongside fellow Griffith Swan Jacob Conlan. Being able to pair up with his good mate has been another highlight for Richards. "Jacob Conlan has been by my side in the Under 18s Academy Series," Richards said. "He's one of my really, really good mates and has played some really good footy. "We're had some solid years with a lot of hard work and we're got another six months, until the draft of hard work, of hard work to get us, fingers crossed, to a club and that's where the real hard work starts." Richards' focus turns back to the GWS Academy side for two weeks with matches against Northern Territory and the Brisbane Lions. The goal is to make the representative side, known as the Allies, from the series to play in the under 18s championships against Victorian, South Australian and West Australian sides. "Hopefully to get selected in the Allies side like I did last year," Richards said. "That's be a really good experience and after that I'll be dedicated to the Giants NEAFL side. "Then, fingers crossed, hopefully I get to come back to play a game or two with the Griffith Swans." (The Area News - Wednesday April 26, 2017).

GIRLS MAKING HISTORY - By Liam Warren

Griffith's Jenna Richards and Abby Favell have played a role in the NSW under-15s girls' AFL side making history at the recent National Championships in Perth. NSW was able to make it to the grand final of the competition for the first tie where they met with a strong Victorian team where they fell by 44 points. Despite the result, Jenna Richards said it was a great experience. "It was pretty intense and great to go up against some of the best players around the country," she said. The girls looked strong from the outset defeating Queensland 32-12 in the opening game before backing it up with a 42-8 win over Northern Territory. Round three saw them face-off with Victoria for the first time and after holding a 1-0 lead until halftime the side eventually fell 14-2.
Jenna's dad Trevor said the girls should be proud of their efforts. "I don't think anyone came close to beating Victoria," he said. "They were beating everyone fairly convincingly apart from our game against them in the group stage." The achievement of matching it with the Victorians is exemplified when you look at the difference in experience levels. According to Richards most of the Victorian girls have been playing AFL for most of their life whereas Abby and Jenna have only play about 15 games thanks to the recent addition of a short girls competition held in the Autumn. (The Area News - Monday August 2, 2017).

HUGE RAPS FOR BLAKE ARGUS - By Liam Warren

Solid performances at the AFL under-15s Australian National Championships held in Perth recently saw Griffith's Blake Argus pick up a big honour. Argus was the sole representative from the entire NSW side to be nominated for the All-Australian team, an achievement leaving the talented youngster shocked. "It really surprised me actually, but I was happy to find out that I had been picked," he said. "I think I went pretty good I mean I must have done something good, I guess. As a whole, the NSW side put in one of its better performances to date to finish third after defeating Queensland in the bronze medal game. The only matches the side lost were to the powerhouses of Victoria and South Australia. "I think as a team we played really well," he said. "Being NSW, we don't normally get up that much really, I think normally we would finish fourth as a high point really, but we really went well in this carnival. "The boys did really well." Argus is a part of the Greater Western Sydney Giants Academy and he hopes the opportunity will help him make the big step after school. "The dream would be to get into footy," he said. "If it happens it happens, I guess. Blake thanked the Griffith community and the Swans for their support.

(The Area News - Wednesday, August 30, 2017).

GRIGGS TAKES THE STEP UP

Griffith have unveiled Will Griggs as their new coach for 2018. After two years as assistant under coach Adrian Pavese, Griggs will step up into top job next season. Griggs appointment was announced at the Swan's inaugural 100 Club function on Saturday night, where the news was met with 'great response'. It will be Griggs first senior coaching job after three seasons at Griffith. "It's been playing in the works for two years now," Griggs said. "It's been a mentoring role under Pav so I could learn a thing or two. "It's going to be a challenge but one I'm looking forward to." Griggs moved to Griffith with fellow Canberra recruits Ben King and Sam Daniel in 2015 and the trio have been a revelation for the club. They helped the Swans to their first finals appearance in a decade last year, and will be apart of the September action this year, when they kick off their campaign against Coolamon in Sunday's elimination final at Robertson Oval.

Griggs, 27-years-old, has enjoyed his best year in red and white colours and wants to finish off the year strongly before thinking too much about 2018. "We're still going through (plans for 2018) but my focus is on finals this weekend first," he said. "I think it will be a bloody good game (against Coolamon). They are obviously in really good form. "Last week we played a bit too patchy, but we really turned it on in the second half. We just need to find that consistency because you can't afford to be patchy in finals. "The boys are pretty keen, we got a taste of finals for the first time in a long time last year and this year we want to go a few better."
Griggs was born and bred in Canberra and played all his football at Queanbeyan. He has loved the move to Griffith and wanted to repay the club's faith in him by taking on the coaching position. "I love the club," he said. "They did a fair bit for me when we moved there, helped set us up and everything, I wanted to repay the service." Griggs said he has always wanted to pursue coaching. "I always felt I had a knack for it, even when I was younger," he said. "It's early to be starting it, I didn't think I'd be doing it at this point but it's good to get a head start." (The Area News - Friday September 1, 2017).

SWANS CRAVING SUCCESS - By Matt Malone

Griffith captain James Toscan says the Swans are riding a wave of confidence into Sunday's preliminary final showdown with Collingullie-Glenfield Park. The Swans are making a serious charge at the Riverina League premiership with sudden death finals wins over Coolamon and Mangoplah-CUE under their belt. They have been the club's first finals wins in 11 years and Toscan said confidence is sky high at Griffith heading into their final challenge at Robertson Oval on Sunday. "I'm bloody loving it, to be honest," Toscan said. "We've got a lot of confidence and we're riding off that at the moment." Toscan was only a teenager when he was part of the Swan' last winning finals campaign back in 2006. That campaign ended with a preliminary loss and the 27-year-old would love nothing more than to play in a grand final for the Swans. "It would be huge," he said. "It would be huge for the club, volunteers, stalwarts of the club and the town itself. "You can see last week for the final how massive the crowd was that got behind us. Everyone's craving a bit of success, to be honest. "And to play Leeton-Whitton in the grand final would even be a bit extra." Toscan credits Griffith's rise to outgoing coach Adrian Pavese. "It's been a long time coming," he said.

"There has been a few coaches in between, and a lot of changes. The club's in a really good space now and that's all been driven by Pav. "He's really banded everyone together." The Swans have come from behind in both finals wins. They have trailed at every quarter break, but most importantly been in front at the full-time siren. Toscan says the manner of those wins have created enormous belief. "I think we can (win on Sunday). We've showed the last couple of weeks that anything can happen if we stay in the fight," he said. "We've got a heap of belief that as long as we're close enough, we're fit enough to finish hard and have a tilt at it. We know Gullie are going to be pretty tough, they've beaten us twice this year but we're going to go in with confidence, that's for sure. Toscan, who has played just about every position on the ground through his career, has played predominantly forward this year. He is loving it. "It's a pretty exciting forward line to be in," he said. "I haven't played in a more talented forward line." (The Area News - Friday September 15, 2017).

PROUD PAVESE DEPARTS GRIFFITH - By Peter Doherty

Griffith coach Adrian Pavese was disappointed to see their season ended in emphatic fashion at Robertson Oval on Sunday but will finish up at the club proud of what they're done. After two final-quarter comebacks wins to make the preliminary final, the Swans were outplayed by Collingullie-Glenfield Park, who made them pay for too many errors. "I don't think we left anything in the tank but we weren't at out best today," Pavese said. "You can't do that against Collingullie. "You give them a chance and they'll nail you. "We gave what we thought was an honest effort but it was nowhere near the mark. "But I said to the boys after the game, sometimes you don't need a piece of silverware to have a successful year. "So we're pretty happy with where we sit. "The monkey (of not making finals) was off the back and we showed we've got a bit of resilience, a bit of fight. "But we just couldn't do it three weeks in a row unfortunately." The Swans were in the contest at times but turnovers were costly. And four times in the first three quarters they had passages of momentum, with three, three scoring shots in a row, only to kick 1.2 on each occasion. Jack Rowston, Jacob Barrington, Jordan Iudica and Ben King were among Griffith's best. Pavese said the Demons' experience told in the end but he believes incoming coach Will Griggs takes the reigns with Griffith in good health. "Pretty proud," Pavese said. "The club's in a good space. "We've got the reserves grade in the grand final next week, so all get behind them... and there's plenty of people they want to be here, want to stay here and want to come back." (The Area News - Wednesday September 20, 2017).

RESERVES IN FINAL - By Oliver Jacques

The Griffith Swans Reserves team are gearing up for a grand final clash against Collingullie-Glenfield Park at Narrandera Sportsground on Saturday. The Swans marched into the season finale after a crushing 62-12 win against Turvey Park in the second semi final - when they restricted their opposition to just one goal. The win was even more convincing than the Swans 40-point defeat of Turvey Park in the last round of their normal season. A grand final win would cap a remarkable season for the Griffith seconds team, as they have stormed through both the regular and finals undefeated. Team captain Cameron Harrison said strong defence had laid the foundation for the dream run. "I think we've got the lowest number of points conceded we've ever had. The defence has been great," he said. "But we back ourselves to score points when we need them." Harrison is confident his team can come home with the gods. "I'll be tough game but we've got a good record against Collingullie." "We've also got a good record in Narrandera too." The reality is the Swans have an incredible record wherever they play.

The Griffith Swans and Collingullie have clashed twice during the regular season, with the Swans finishing on top both times. In Round 5, the Swans won narrowly, 9.8 (62) to 8.4 (52). In Round 14, the Swans got the job done comfortably, winning 8.8 (56) to 4.5 (29). The Swans Reserves season stats are nothing short of astonishing. They won 16 matches out of 16 in the regular season, to finish on 72 points - scoring 1379 points and conceding just 529. There was daylight between the Swans and second placed Collingullie, who finished on 60 points.

(The Area News - Friday September 22, 2017).

SWANS' YEAR IN REVIEW - By Jacinta Dickins

Despite the RFL reserve grade grand final loss at Narrandera on the weekend, the Swans club celebrate their almost undefeated season and are looking forward to another great year. President of the Griffith Swans, Jeff Harris is pleased with the year that has passed. "In general terms it was a successful year for the club. We've managed to be in line for premierships in the 17's netball in the first year of the competition, minor premiership for the 17's football, and the reserves, who throughout the season remained undefeated except for the grand final unfortunately," Mr Harris said. "Our seniors playing right through to a preliminary final was another highlight."
Mr Harris thinks the most exciting part of the club at the moment is the youth coming through, with their junior programs is working well. "We have some exceptional talent from the kids that are coming through, we had Lucas Conlan who is a 16-year-old in his first senior year of footy, and he managed to get named in the RFL team of the year, along with other young guns, Jacob Conlan, Sam Foley, Jack Rowston and Mitchell Irvin. Will Griggs was also named in the RFL team of the year, and after being assistant coach, will be taking the reins of senior coach into next season. "Our club at the moment is really happy with where we are, there is a really good culture at the club at the moment, a real family feel coming through, and a lot of supporters coming back."
One of the highlights was the inaugural hundred club function, where the club celebrated the 100 milestone, people who have played 100 senior games for our club, at the end of August. "We had around 96 people come in for that and we celebrated going right back through the premiership players of the 50's, it was great to see such a cross section of people involved in the club and being celebrated," Mr Harris said.

The Swans are looking for the elusive premiership, which is the ultimate goal, but would like to continue the development of the younger players. Next season, the club seeks to capitalise on the great depth of skill currently available in the senior club.

(The Area News - Wednesday September 27, 2017).'