JETS hired gun Joel Griffiths has taken a lead from actor Adam Sandler in the movie Anger Management to help keep his temper in check.
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Griffiths had to bite his tongue after being given a yellow card by referee Chris Beath for an innocuous challenge on Mark Bridge early in the Jets' 2-0 victory over Western Sydney Wanderers on Sunday.
The match was the former Golden Boot's second back from a two-game suspension for verbally abusing referee Ben Williams in the dying stages of the 2-all draw with Wanderers in round 17.
That sanction followed a three-week stint on the sideline for a similar incident involving a referee's assistant during his brief spell at Sydney FC last season.
The 34-year-old is one of the more passionate players in the league but has often been guilty of letting his frustration boil over, especially with match officials.
Griffiths confirmed he had attended club-arranged counselling sessions after his latest indiscretion, but he revealed yesterday that his main inspiration came from the slapstick comedy Anger Management, and in particular a scene in which Sandler's therapist instructs him to sing I Feel Pretty from the musical Westside Story. (Which curiously features two street gangs, one of which are The Jets).
"I have been doing some counselling, but I have also been watching the movie Anger Management," he said .
The striker then broke into song for the assembled media, crooning:
"I feel pretty, oh so pretty, I feel pretty and witty and gay."I have been singing that to myself when I step out on to the pitch. That seems to be working," he said.
"The counsellor actually told me to touch my ears, but I thought that might come across a little strange on the Fox Sports coverage."
Jets assistant coach Craig Deans was adamant Griffiths's collision with Bridge did not warrant a yellow card but stopped short of suggesting the striker's reputation had an influence on officials.
"The yellow card to me was very strange," Deans said.
"There were four or five challenges that were far worse in the period leading up to Joel getting the yellow card. Personally, I think it was a bad decision. Credit to Joel, he didn’t let it affect him. He got on with the game.
‘‘Everyone has something they need to work at. For Joel, it is making sure he maintains his discipline.’’
Sunday’s booking was Griffiths’s first yellow in three appearances since arriving at the Jets in January.
Yellow cards were reset to zero at the end of the round.
Although it has been wiped, Griffiths said the booking had forced him to change the way he played.
‘‘It was difficult because playing 70 minutes on a yellow card in wet conditions is quite hard,’’ he said.
‘‘To be honest, the second half I was going out thinking about not getting a yellow card instead of thinking about playing football.
‘‘If I had got another red card, I don’t know how I would have reacted.
‘‘I just have to be smart in the future and accept that I may not get as much latitude as other players.’’
Aside from the card, Griffiths was happy with his first start since returning to the Jets.
He was deployed on the right side of midfield and formed an instant combination with front two Emile Heskey and Adam Taggart.
‘‘We had a couple of wet days last week and really didn’t get on the field to work on our shape,’’ Griffiths said.
‘‘The game was literally the first time together. I thought we jelled quite good, and hopefully it is promising signs with six games to go.’’
Deans, too, was confident the combination would only get better.
‘‘Emile now has three people around him who make very, very good forward runs and are positive with their play,’’ he said. ‘‘The fact that Emile is now getting on the ball and is able to make a killer pass a couple of times . . . I think the partnership between those three plus either Andrew Hoole, Craig Goodwin or James Virgili on the other side is positive.’’
Griffiths was on light duties yesterday after a knock to his ribs but is certain to be right to play Melbourne Heart at Hunter Stadium on Saturday.
‘‘With that 70 minutes under my belt, I can go into the Heart game with a bit of confidence,’’ he said.