BRENDAN McCartney is reluctant to individualise about his players - publicly at least - but the Western Bulldogs coach dropped his guard momentarily when asked to describe Ryan Griffen's club record of 47 possessions.
"It was extraordinary, wasn't it?" McCartney marvelled post-match after Griffen's effort in a losing side against the Sydney Swans.
"Statistically it was extraordinary, but just to see a person give so much.
"He has been carrying a sore body around for a while, and he's been playing in a midfield where he gets tagged heavily and he's only got a couple of young boys and 'Boydy' (Matthew Boyd) to help him. We have lost some troops in that part of the ground. It was an extraordinary effort."
Watch BulldogsTV highlights of Ryan Griffen's Club Record 47 disposal performance against the Swans.
Griffen surpassed the previous Bulldogs record of 46 disposals by Simon Atkins against Fitzroy in round 12, 1992.
The recently-turned 26-year-old's best quarter was the first, when he had 16 touches, which he followed with nine, 13 and 9.
There was some concern in the dying stages when he limped off the ground after pulling up sore from what would be his final contest. (Ironically, it was one of the few times he was tackled and failed to dish off the ball for what would have been disposal No. 48.) But McCartney said his star was "OK".
Griffen had a remarkable 29 disposals in the two quarters when the Dogs kicked towards the Coventry End.
He also won very few of what people might call "cheap" touches. He had 22 contested possessions, eight clearances (including four from centre bounces).
He also pumped the ball inside 50 on eight occasions and contributed two goal assists.
Bulldogs football director Chris Grant - who played alongside Atkins in his record-breaking game 20 years ago - believes it was "probably" the finest performance in Griffen's 160-game career. He also said it signalled that Griffen had graduated to a new level.
"He got them the right way," Grant said. "Sometimes players can get 47 possessions and not have the influence on the team that Ryan had today. We didn’t win, but Ryan was enormous. From the opening bounce until the last contest he was involved in, he was there - head down and bum up the whole time, leading the way."
Grant said the Bulldogs were proud of Griffen's efforts for two reasons: that he had successfully changed his playing style to become more of an inside player, and that (as McCartney alluded to) he had little experienced support.
"He's obviously a very talented player, but we've been really hard on him because we thought he had another level to go to, and maybe he did that today," he said.
"Brendan's been asking him to play a different way, which is a new way for him, and that is to become very committed to getting that contested footy. That's pretty hard to do mid-career, when you’re a talented player, a best and fairest winner and a proven finals campaigner. But he's managed to do it.
"And he's not surrounded by a plethora of other really talented midfielders at the moment. We've got a very young team.
"In a lot of ways, it's probably his best game. And that's saying something because we've been rapt with his performances in finals right throughout his career."
Grant recalls the game where Atkins achieved the old record. He kicked four goals in a 62-point win. Atkins kicked two goals himself - to go with his 29 kicks and 17 handballs.
"I can remember thinking, 'My God, it would take me three or four games to get 45 possessions!' Now Ryan's got 47. The mind boggles," he said.
Griffen's feat sits 11th on the all-time VFL/AFL list. (Records go back to 1974, but it's unlikely any player reached the high 40s before then.)
It's also the third-best effort by a player this season, behind Gold Coast captain Gary Ablett (who has 53 touches against Collingwood at the MCG in round 10, equalling Greg Williams' 1989 record for the Swans in 1989), and Magpie Dane Swan's 49 against Hawthorn at the MCG in round 17. All three were in losing sides.
Griffen and skipper Matthew Boyd (35 disposals) had 85 touches between them - potentially on the heels of another record.
The lesson of Griffen's performance wasn't lost on Clay Smith, the Dogs' next-generation midfielder, who said he admired "just how long he can consistently stay in the game, keep coming back around the ball, and [his] work-rate as well."
