Club legend Doug Hawkins believes Ryan Griffen is now comfortably among the AFL’s elite midfielders, and could potentially become a Western Bulldogs great.
Hawkins, one of the Bulldogs’ greatest ever players over a 300-plus game career through the late 1970s, 80s and 90s, believes midfielder Griffen is a “Rolls Royce” in the making.
Hawkins believes Griffen’s form this season has been so good and consistent, he can now be ranked alongside Gold Coast superstar Gary Ablett and the competition’s best players.
“Not many Rolls Royces at this footy club – Chris Grant was one – but Ryan Griffen’s not far away from it,” Hawkins said.
“I don’t like talking Brownlow Medals, but he is potentially that player who’ll win a Brownlow Medal because he carries and he runs.
“He’s a good decision maker – tough, hard at the footy.
“He’s right up there with some of the best midfielders in the competition … you’re talking Gary Ablett Jr, (Geelong’s Jimmy) Bartel, Sam Mitchell from Hawthorn. He’s just absolutely sensational.
“Ryan Griffen belongs in that top bracket of midfielders, no doubt about it.”
Hawkins was honoured again by his former club on Monday.
The patch of ground the winger stalked at the club’s Whitten Oval headquarters when the Bulldogs were known as Footscray has been re-dedicated as the Doug Hawkins Wing following the club’s recent redevelopment.
Hawkins said he was confident the Bulldogs, who posted their third win in four matches with an 18-point win over North Melbourne on Sunday, were now on the right track under new coach Brendan McCartney.
But veteran forward Daniel Giansiracusa warned the Dogs still had plenty of work to do to come to grips with the game plan McCartney demands, and to be rated a competition force.
“We’ve won three games and we’re in that middle pack, and I think we’re seeing improvements, but we’ve got a long way to go,” Giansiracusa said.
“(The game plan) is a work in progress. Some days it’s going to work like it did yesterday, other times it’s going to be a challenge.
“We’re a young and emerging side. All we ask for is we see improvement not only on the training track, but game to game.”
The Bulldogs’ next match is against struggling Gold Coast in Darwin on Saturday.