Pride sign veteran Griffin, Lewis

INTRUST Super Cup club Northern Pride sought to “buy back the farm” this year, signing up a number of North Queensland talents, including Papua New Guineans Bernard Lewis and Rod Griffin, to join their playing squad.
Pride football manager Chey Bird said it was a key decision for the club to help build a strong core playing group heading into next year.
“The Pride have a short history, but one rich with success and one that has always been built upon home-grown talent,” Bird said.
“Following an ordinary season, we entered the player market with an ambition to get ourselves back into finals contention.
“We aimed to ‘buy back the farm’ and try to entice players with ties to our footprint home.
“When you take a look around the Intrust Super Cup, Intrust Super Premiership and the NRL, there are numerous players who have their roots in far North Queensland and so we had a number of players with experience at high-level football who we could attempt to lure back to the club to help in our rebuild.
“Like every club, we had identified a few areas in which we were lacking and so tried to ensure that we filled those gaps.
“Our criteria was simple, in that we wanted to not only recruit quality footballers, but most importantly that we recruited quality people who other players wanted to play with.”
One of those players was Lewis, a Cairns Kangaroos junior who was coming off contract with the Sydney Roosters.
“He’s a proven finisher and adds speed out wide but also brings a real willingness to roll up his sleeves and carry out of our end. And all with a 1000-watt smile,” Bird said of the 22-year-old, who represented PNG at last year’s Rugby League World Cup Nines.
Vice-captain and former PNG Kumul Griffin, who has transferred from the Blackhawks, also brings a wealth of experience with him.
“He is a proven winner and an Atherton junior,” Bird said.
“Rod has been on the club’s radar for a few seasons and his value to the playing group cannot be over-stated.
“His approach to his preparation has been invaluable to the younger players in the squad.” – QRL