Josh Griffin says his seven-game ban still grates on him but leaving Hull was the right thing to do.
The East Yorkshire club have released the popular second-row from the remainder of his contract which was due to expire at the end of the season. Griffin, who scored 45 tries in 144 games for Hull, is set to join Wakefield Trinity on an 18-month deal after a “whirlwind” few weeks. His last game was the Challenge Cup quarter-final defeat against St Helens last month when the ex-Salford star was red-carded for dissent and questioning the integrity of referee Chris Kendall.
That led to the huge suspension and Griffin, speaking publicly about the incident and his Hull exit for the first time, said: “It has been a surreal time. I don’t know how to explain it. I was playing well, hit some really good form, scored a hat-trick at Magic Weekend and two weeks later I got that red card. It’s been a whirlwind ever since then.”
In the disciplinary tribunal, Griffin admitted swearing at Kendall but refuted the claims he called the official a “f****** cheat.” He has served three games of the ban so far and said: “Obviously, I’m massively disappointed. I still feel very harshly done by. I won’t agree to some of the things that came out. I stand by what I said in the tribunal.
“I know what the truth is and I stand by that. I’ve kept quiet on it but I will share my thoughts on it all one day. I don’t want to get in any more trouble. That’s part of the problem as well: players don’t really have a voice in the game. That’s disappointing. I can’t have promised we’d have gone on to win the game if I’d not got that red card but we’d have had a better chance.”
Griffin, 33, had endeared himself to Hull fans as part of the 2017 Challenge Cup winning side at Wembley and as a strong-running centre who was in Shaun Wane’s England squad two years ago. However, he never got to make his promised debut as he suffered an Achilles injury that ruled him out for nine months. Griffin switched to the pack this term and he’d just been hitting some excellent form with seven tries in his last five games.
Many Hull fans hoped he’d sign on again for 2024 but the former Castleford and Huddersfield player reckons he was never likely to get a new deal - even before his recent sending-off sidelined him. Griffin insisted: “No. I don’t think so. There was only a discussion even being thought about because of how well I was playing. When I went into the season I kind of had an inkling it would be my last year at Hull anyway and I wouldn’t get a new contract.
“In myself as well, I’d had a tough year after doing my Achilles. But I was playing well, had a smile on my face, enjoying myself, enjoying being in the back-row and had a good run of games together but I still don’t think there’d have been a deal for me at the end.”
On his career at Hull, he added: “It was a great move at the time. I was looking to join a big club like Hull. I had some success there - some hard days as well - but I leave the club with fond memories. I spent seven seasons there - the majority of my career - and Hull has become home for me now so we will still be living in the area. My little boy’s an FC fan. The club has become a big part of my life but I was ready for a change and I think the club is as well. It could have ended better as I’ve not gone out on my terms but that’s the way it happens sometimes.”
