The Western Bulldogs are refusing to budge in the face of a trade request from star midfielder Ryan Griffen.
Griffen joins Geelong’s Allen Christensen as the second gun player to request a move from Victoria to Queensland in a matter of days, asking the club to package him in a deal to Greater Western Sydney. But the 28-year-old doesn’t look to be going anywhere after Bulldogs president Peter Gordon bluntly shot down Griffen’s demand.
“We are extremely disappointed at his approach and have no intention of indulging it,” Gordan said in a statement released Thursday evening.
Griffen approached Gordon with concerns about the ability of coach Brendan McCartney after the club’s Best & Fairest ceremony in early September, eventually agreeing to stay with the team in a later meeting with board leadership.
“(Griffen) returned to Australia on Tuesday night and without any further discussion with us after giving that agreement, Ryan informed us that he had changed his mind,” Gordon said. “We were also informed that he was seeking a trade to GWS – with whom we now understand he was in communication during this time.
The South Australian has a single season remaining on his current deal with the Bulldogs and even the allure of landing one of GWS’s gun young forwards in a potential trade isn’t enough to tempt the club, yet to make a finals appearance since 2010.
Griffen experienced a down season of sorts in 2014, averaging 23 possessions and five tackles per contest, down on a career-high 29 disposals per game the year before.
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