The Johnny Warren Medal-winner was delighted to hear of the player's capture this week and is looking forward to linking up with the 19-year-old next season.

Griffiths told au.fourfourtwo.com: "I am a big, big fan of Kaz Patafta and I'm really happy that Gary van Egmond has persuaded him to come to the Jets.

"He's a quality young player and I think he's just the type that will suit our style of play.

"I was pretty surprised he didn't get more opportunity to play at Melbourne Victory but hopefully he'll get that chance here.

"He is someone who likes to get forward and hopefully he can score a few goals for us.

"I'm pretty confident that he's going to do well for us."

Patafta has signed a 12 month deal but van Egmond has made it clear he wants the player to be part of the club's future for much longer than that.

He said: "He's another quality youngster we've added to our squad and I'm very happy that we're assembling a group of players that have many years in the game ahead of them, to learn and hopefully progress.

"We want them all to be part of what we're trying to build here."