Griffins captain Andrew Sellers said his players produced the gutsiest performance of their season in the face of a crippling injury count, against arguably the competition’s hardest team.

After Shortland put the Griffins to the sword in the first half, running away to a 36-4 lead by half-time, it was never going to be a comfortable afternoon for the East Maitland side.

The Griffins began the game with just three reserves and ended it with only 11 men on the field.

“Shortland are a really tough side and we just had too many players missing from last week,” Sellers said.

“But the boys just kept on going. We only had 11 players by the end of the game and the boys never gave up.”

Sellers’ praise was echoed by club secretary Craig Jackson.

“At half-time they really dug deep and we talked about really having a go.

“They showed a lot of pride in their jersey.”

Griffins forward Buster Cush lined himself up for hit after hit to give the Griffins some go forward with the little possession they had.

Reserve Chris Bull took the field at half-time and showed he was fit to return to the fray for next week’s dog fight against West Maitland, after a stint on the sideline.

“Chris was excellent when he came on in the second half. He went for the full 40 minutes and that’s not easy after you’ve been out for six weeks.”

The Griffins’ pain from the Shortland defeat was short-lived as the club hosted its sportsman’s dinner later that night. Guest speakers Tommy Raudonikis and Arthur Beatson entertained the East Maitland Bowling club audience with stories from the inception of the state of origin and the era that followed. They also addressed the current furore over Bulldogs enforcer Sonny Bill Williams’ apparent defection from rugby league, drawing amusing contrasts between then and now.

“Tommy and Arty were just sensational,” Jackson said. “Tommy said how back in his day most contracts were drawn on the back of a beer coaster.

“All our auction material was sold and it will help a lot next year.”

The Griffins are out of finals contention for the 2008 season. There are just three competition games left, which include this weekend’s local derby with the Red Dogs.