A FITTER, stronger and more confident Jonathon Griffin says he’s raring to go for Adelaide’s NAB Cup-opener against Geelong at the Telstra Dome on Saturday night.

Griffin, 23, watched helplessly in the latter half of last season as teammate and good friend Ivan Maric assumed the role of number-one ruckman at West Lakes.

The promising big man played the opening 10 games of the season before a long-standing hip complaint worsened.

Griffin turned to cortisone injections in a bid to resurrect his year, but was sent back to Central Districts in the SANFL where he struggled to play out games.

In round 21, he was scheduled for surgery to remove debris from the joint while his Crows and premiership-bound Central Districts teammates prepared for finals.

“I played four or five games for Central Districts after being dropped from the (Adelaide) team and I was finding it pretty tough,” Griffin said.

“I was more or less there as an insurance policy in case Ivan, Kurt Tippett or Brad Moran dropped, but after about a month I went in and had the hip done.

“I’d been carrying it for the last two years, so it was good to fix it up, hopefully, for good. It feels great now and I’ve had a pretty good pre-season, so I’m raring to go for 2009.”

At training these days Griffin casts a very different shadow to the one that arrived in Adelaide as a rookie in 2005.

The 201cm West Australian, who first came to the Crows’ attention while playing for East Fremantle, has added more than 20kg to his once lean frame.

He also has a greater presence off the field, having found confidence in his football ability and acceptance of his indigenous heritage.

“My confidence is growing every year as I get more experienced and stronger in the gym. Everyone says big blokes take a bit more time, but it’s hard to be patient and wait,” Griffin said.

“I’ve cracked 100 kilograms now, so I’ve come a long way from the 80 (kilograms) I weighed when I first got to the club. I’m starting to feel more confident about being able to hold my position and start throwing some guys around.”

The first players Griffin will jostle for position with are teammates Maric, Tippett and Moran, who are all competing for the two available ruck spots.

Solidly built draftee Shaun McKernan has also thrown his name into the mix after an impressive pre-season.

But Griffin, who played 16 games as a back-up to former Crow Ben Hudson in 2007, said the healthy competition had only made him more determined to regain his place in the side.

“I’ve made it clear to Bicks and Vines (assistant coaches Mark Bickley and Todd Viney) that I was pretty disappointed missing out last year and also with the result the boys had in the finals,” Griffin said.

“I can’t control selection, so I can’t sit here and say that I’m going to play 22 games, but I want to make sure I play the best I can every week.

"I want to stay injury-free and, hopefully, everything else will take care of itself.”