Australian Football

After an extraordinarily eventful league debut which saw him snag a goal with his first kick, only to cop a broken collarbone moments later after being felled by Essendon's Ian 'Bluey' Shelton, St Kilda's Daryl Griffiths went on to develop into one of the finest utilities in the game. Whether playing on the half back line, as a ruck-rover, or standing in for Ian Stewart in the centre, Griffiths was almost invariably effective, with his versatility adding enormously to the flexibility of the side. In the historic 1966 Grand Final against Collingwood, Griffiths played on the ball, and was a constant source of drive and creativity for the Saints, who won a heart-stopping game by a single point.

Between 1967 and 1970, Daryl Griffiths played probably the best football of his career, gaining regular selection in VFL representative teams, and winning the 1970 club champion award - no mean achievement given the star-studded nature of the St Kilda line-up at the time. At the end of the 1970 season, however, he stunned club officials by requesting a clearance to South Fremantle. This, quite naturally, was refused, but Griffiths showed his determination by opting to stand out of football for twelve months in order to obtain an 'open' clearance. At the end of that time, however, South Fremantle's interest had cooled, and he ended up joining fellow Victorians such as Colin Tully, Peter Hines, John Evans and Bob Greenwood at Claremont.

In 1972 and '73, his last two league seasons, Daryl Griffiths continued to play some fine football, although the consensus appears to be that, overall, he failed to do complete justice to his illustrious reputation. He was a member of Claremont's losing Grand Final team against East Perth in 1972, and the following year represented his adopted state against the VFL. He retired with a total of 165 games of league football to his credit, 123 with St Kilda from 1963 to 1970, and 42 with the Tigers.

In 2002 he was chosen on a half back flank in St Kilda's official 'Team of the Century'.

Author - John Devaney