Pitted against arguably the best big man of the past decade, Griffin ensured Eagles champion Dean Cox had no serious impact on the game by almost matching Cox’s disposal tally and contesting hard in every contest.
His 12 disposals, four marks and 20 hit-outs earned him high praise from Fremantle coach Ross Lyon, who often shies away from talking about the performances of individual players.
"I’ve got full faith in Jon," Lyon said.
"He really stood up last year and that’s why we were really excited when Aaron (Sandilands) and Jon were going to be in the team together.
"Seeing Aaron playing in our front half a fair bit would be fantastic for us and we will see that at some point, just not at the moment.
"But I thought Jon and Kepler (Bradley) as a tandem were really effective against a pretty special ruckman in Cox and young (Scott) Lycett."
Bradley, who racked up 13 hit-outs and kicked two goals, easily covered Lycett, who managed just three disposals and nine hit-outs for the match.
Lycett will come under heavy pressure to retain his spot in the side after Callum Sinclair was one of Subiaco’s best in the WAFL on Friday night.
But that takes nothing away from the performance of Griffin. Fremantle recruit Danyle Pearce was also quick to praise Griffin after the match.
"I told him after the game he played fantastic and really carried the load and it’s great to see," Pearce said.
"And it’s great for his confidence."
