The former Western Bulldogs captain, 35, made his debut for Myrtleford in their win over Corowa-Rutherglen on Saturday, two-and-a-half months after signing with the Alpine Saints.

Griffen, who played with Myrtleford co-coach Dawson Simpson at GWS Giants, operated up forward and kicked two goals in the 70-point victory.

It was his first match since playing for Goolwa/Port Elliot in South Australia in 2019.

"I haven't played for three years so just to be part of a club again was a pretty special moment," Griffen said.

"I was just as nervous to play on Saturday as I was for an AFL game.

"I had an expectation on myself and you just want to play well.

"It doesn't matter how old you are, you always want to contribute and I thought I got better as it went on, the second half.

"I'm just trying to enjoy it again to be honest."

Griffen, who played 257 times in the AFL, was a triple best-and-fairest winner during a decade with the Bulldogs and spent four years with the Giants before retiring from the top level in 2018.

Myrtleford were never going to rush him into action but Griffen's class is now set to give them a major boost in the second half of the season.

"Early on, I wasn't ready, fitness-wise," he explained.

"My lower back and my groin were giving me grief and then my wife was pregnant - the baby's three weeks old now.

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"We had to wait for that to get out of the way and it just fitted in really nicely this weekend.

"We've got a bye now and hopefully I can play a few in a row now, get match fit and start to feel a bit more confident out there."

Griffen was swamped by his new team-mates after kicking his first Saints goal.

"It was a special moment for them to all get around me," he smiled.

"It came off the boot OK.

"A lot of others didn't come off the boot as well as I'd like but that will come with fitness.

"I've been training in Melbourne with about 10 of them and when you've got Dawson (Simpson), you know there's really good characters around your footy club."

Griffen had 19 disposals and eight score involvements against the Roos, while his terrific tackle on Jy Lane which led to a Murray Waite goal was a huge momentum-shifter after the visitors had kicked four straight to give themselves a sniff.

"Ryan's a really close mate of mine and to play football with him again is fantastic," Simpson said.

"As far as that forward player, who can mark the ball one-on-one, get it to ground level or turn players inside-out, his AFL career speaks for itself and we just want him to slot in and do his thing.

"Hopefully we can give him the ball and he can finish it off for us."

"Dawson's been in direct communication with me, asking if I'd come to play a few games," Griffen added.

"My wife's good friends with his wife and it just fitted this year.

"At my age, it's just nice to stay fit and be amongst the footy club.

"Corowa and us were on the same points so it was a pretty crucial game and great to get the win."

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