Rostyn Griffiths

Rostyn John Griffiths (born 10 March 1988) is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Perth Glory in the A-League. In October 2016 he was announced as Perth Glory captain.
One of the most expensive signings in A-League history, the big defending-midfielder has always been a standout player in the A-League. Griffiths is renowned for his ability to break up the opposition’s gameplay and being the central figure to his team’s build-up play.
Griffiths starred for Central Coast Mariners from 2010 until he moved to Chinese club Guangzhou R&F in 2012. That departure attracted a $1.3 million transfer fee which remains an A-League record.

Born in Stoke-on-Trent, England, Griffiths started his youth career with Australian club ECU Joondalup before moving to England to play for Blackburn Rovers where he never made a senior appearance but during the time he spent at Blackburn he joined Gretna on loan in January 2008. where he made his debut for the side against Heart of Midlothian in February.

He signed a one-year deal with Blackburn in January 2008 and was sent on loan to Accrington Stanley for the remainder of his contract.

On 3 February 2009 he was signed as an injury replacement player by A-League club Adelaide United. With the initial agreement only covering a four-week stint, there is an option to extend that to a two-year contract. However, it is a permanent deal, and not a loan.

On 2 July 2009, it was announced that Griffiths would join A-League club North Queensland Fury !North Queensland Fury for their inaugural season. On 8 August 2009 he started in Fury's first A-league match and scored the Fury's first ever goal in a competitive match against Sydney FC.

On 29 February 2012 it was announced that he had signed for Chinese Super League club Guangzhou for a fee that was undisclosed at the time, but later revealed to be $1.3 million, a record sum for an Australian transfer.

On 23 January 2014 it was announced that Griffiths returned to the A-League, signing with Perth Glory.

On 4 December 2014, Griffiths scored his first goal of the 2014–15 season against Sydney FC in the 84th minute before Andy Keogh scored in the 86th minute to earn a late 2–1 comeback.

On 26 July 2015, Perth Glory released Griffiths to allow him to sign a two-year deal with newly promoted Eredivise club Roda JC. Following struggles for game-time, Griffiths left Roda JC after one season on 19 April 2016.

On 24 July 2016, Griffiths returned once more to the A-League, signing a two-year deal with Perth Glory after trialling with them on their Philippines Tour. On 2 October 2016, he was announced as captain of the club.

Griffiths has played for Australia's National under 17 team, and scored a brace on his debut against Tonga. While he was still playing for Blackburn, he was courted by Wales' national teams, due to a Welsh link on his Grandfather's side but, at that point, had not yet decided on his international allegiance.

His younger brother, Brent Griffiths is also a professional footballer who last played for Penang in the Malaysia Super League. The brothers were together, during their stints in the youth set up of English Premier League side, Blackburn Rovers.

As of 8 October 2016

Club

Central Coast Mariners !Central Coast Mariners

• A-League Premiership: 2011–2012

Country

Australia

• OFC U-17 Championship: 2005