It’s been a disruptive couple of years for Josh Griffin, but he’s feeling refreshed and excited for the 2023 Betfred Super League campaign.
The 32-year-old’s season came to a premature end due to injury in 2022, but he was fit again in time for the start of pre-season training earlier this month.
Griffin and his FC comrades have made the switch to the University of Hull, where their training facility is now based, and he feels that it has contributed to an enjoyable first few weeks of pre-season training.
“It’s been good to have a fresh start. Going up to the uni has been a positive change for us,” he said.
“We’ve come back into training and all of the boys have bought into it some new ideas from the coaching staff.
“Pre-season has changed over the years, in my opinion. When I was coming through as a kid, it was all about flogging every player. Whereas now, I think there’s a lot more sports science involved, so there’s a big emphasis on making sure we keep players fit and on the pitch, so hopefully that pays off for us this year.
“For me, it was important to have a completely fresh start, I think. Last year’s pre-season was disrupted with me still recovering from an Achilles injury, so I’m looking forward to having a good run through until the start of the season.”
Venturing into his seventh pre-season with the Black & Whites, Griffin is likely to hit the 150 club appearances milestone in the 2023 campaign.
Whilst the majority of his appearances for the Airlie Birds have come in the centres, Griffin has featured in several other positions on deputy, namely fullback and second-row.
He now believes that he is capable of making the switch from centre to back-row in preparation for the start of the new season.
“I’ve sat down with Tony and I’ve let him know about my desire to play in the back-row this year,” he said.
“It’s something I’ve been working towards over the last couple of years now and for one reason or another, I’ve ended up playing back in the centres.
“But it’s a position I feel I can adapt to really well. For me, I’m using this pre-season to learn as much as I can about the position by training with the forwards.
“It’s a new challenge for me and one that I’m really looking forward to. Plus, we have a lot of centres at the club so it allows me to give Tony one less headache when it comes down to selection and help out in a position.”
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