Griffin McMaster
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Griffin McMaster | ||
| Date of birth | 2 June 1983 | ||
| Place of birth | Gold Coast, Australia | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Heidelberg United | ||
| Number | 1 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2001 | Palm Beach Sharks | 12 | (0) |
| 2002 | Surfers Paradise | 25 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | Queensland Lions | 15 | (0) |
| 2005–2006 | Brisbane City | 33 | (0) |
| 2007 | Mt Gravatt | 16 | (0) |
| 2007–2010 | Brisbane Roar | 20 | (0) |
| 2010 | Oakleigh Cannons | 16 | (0) |
| 2010 | Wellington Phoenix | 0 | (0) |
| 2011 | Heidelberg United | 19 | (0) |
| 2012 | Moreland Zebras | 19 | (0) |
| 2012 | Bentleigh Greens | 4 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | → Wellington Phoenix (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2013 | Oakleigh Cannons | 18 | (0) |
| 2014– | Heidelberg United | 19 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 September 2014. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Griffin McMaster (born 2 June 1983) is an Australian footballer who currently plays for Heidelberg United FC in the NPL in Victoria and media personality.
Club career
Griffin started playing for Palm Beach Sharks and Surfers Paradise before moving to Queensland Lions. In 2005 the A-League was formed and Queensland Roar (now Brisbane Roar) were given a license to be a part of the new 8-team competition. McMaster needed to be patient for his opportunity and continued to train with the club under then coach Miron Bleiberg and also applying his trade in the Brisbane state league for Brisbane City and Mt Gravatt.
Towards the end of the 2006/07 A-League campaign Griffin signed as an injury replacement player for the remainder of the season under new coach Frank Farina. He was understudy to Liam Reddy.
Following an injury (broken thumb) to keeper Liam Reddy, McMaster made his A-League debut on 5 January 2008 against Melbourne Victory and was man of the match. McMaster played out another man of the match performance in that season in a finals against Sydney FC which finished 0-0. He was then replaced by Reddy for the following match however he re-signed for 2 more seasons.
Griffin received limited game time under coach Farina before he was sacked in October 2009. Ange Postecoglou was appointed the new coach and Reddy succumbed to another injury. Griffin played 12 games under Postecoglou before he was released by Brisbane Roar in March 2010 and joined Victorian Premier League club Oakleigh Cannons and has made regular starts.[1][2] It was announced on 18 August that McMaster had been signed by Wellington Phoenix on an injury replacement deal for injured goalkeeper Reece Crowther.[3]
McMaster signed for Heidelberg United to play in the 2011 season and won Victorian Premier League keeper of the year. Previous club Wellington Phoenix are rumoured to be interested in re-signing him after a recent poll revealed the extent to which he had endeared himself to the Yellow Fever.[4]
Towards the end of the 2011 Victorian Premier League season Griffin was trialing with Melbourne Heart. He was close to signing for the club although he fractured his tibia in round 19 of the Victorian Premier League against Northcote City and was sidelined for 10 months.
In March 2012 McMaster signed with sport marketing company Upper90 Sports[5] for 2 years.
Also in March 2012 Griffin made a successful recovery from his broken leg for Moreland Zebras against South Melbourne in the Victorian Premier League. Griffin left Moreland Zebras at the end of round 19 to join Bentleigh Greens for the remainder of the season.
On 30 November 2012 McMaster joined the Wellington Phoenix for a second injury replacement stint this time as cover for Glen Moss.[6]
In 2014 Griffin made a return to Heidelberg United in the inaugural NPL season in Victoria. He has been making consistent appearances under coach George Katsakis.
Griffin also commentates matches in the NPL (Victoria) and has appeared on a number of occasions on SEN radio on the football segment with Mark Fine (Australia's leading sports radio station)
Personal life
McMaster was educated at The Southport School from grades 10-12 (1998-200), located on the Gold Coast. He attended St. Michaels from 8-9 (1996–1997) and St. Vincent's for his primary schooling years (1989–1995). He is the grandson of former Wallabies great Robert 'Bob' Esmond McMaster and also the son of comedian/impressionist and former rugby league player, Danny McMaster. His mother Louise McMaster is a multi gold medal winning Australian Champion in Outrigging for OC1's and OC6's as is his sister, Brooke (OC6's).
Griffin is currently working in the media with various commitments mainly in football.
A-League statistics
| Club | Season | League1 | Cup | International2 | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Brisbane Roar | 2006–07 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007–08 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2008–09 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2009–10 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Wellington Phoenix | 2010–11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012–13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 20 | 0 | 20 | 0 | |||||
1 - includes A-League final series statistics
2 - includes FIFA Club World Cup statistics; AFC Champions League statistics are included in season commencing after group stages (i.e. ACL and A-League seasons etc.)
References
- ↑ McMaster given nod as Roar lead ladder
- ↑ McMaster handed Roar debut
- ↑ "McMaster rises again". SBS The World Game. 18 August 2010. Retrieved 18 August 2010.
- ↑ "McMaster surprise poll leader". NZ Football News. 19 April 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
- ↑ "Upper90 Sports signs our 2nd player from Australia, Griffin McMaster". u90sports. 16 March 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
- ↑ "Phoenix have another barrier to jump". NZ Herald. 30 November 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2012.