Player Watch #4 Brodie Grundy

[Ticky009]

Player Profile:

Experienced ruckman Brodie Grundy

4

Brodie Grundy

Age

30

Ht

202cm

Wt

105kg

Pos.

Ruck

Career

Season

Last 5

D

17.5

4star

K

8.0

3star

HB

9.6

5star

CL

4.1

5star

HO

32.0

5star

D

16.4

4star

K

6.8

3star

HB

9.6

5star

CL

4.0

5star

HO

34.6

5star

D

13.8

4star

K

5.2

2star

HB

8.6

5star

CL

2.6

5star

HO

20.6

5star

joined the red and white after selection in the 2023 AFL Draft Trade Period. The two-time All Australian arrives having played 194 games across Collingwood and Melbourne and after debuting for Magpies in 2013 has gone on to feature in four finals campaigns, including the 2018 Grand Final. The 29-year-old, who cites Dean Cox

Dean Cox

Age

43

Ht

203cm

Wt

107kg

Pos.

F/R

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.9

4star

K

8.9

3star

HB

6.9

4star

M

5.3

5star

T

1.5

3star

G

0.6

4star

No current season stats available

D

13.0

4star

K

5.8

3star

HB

7.2

5star

M

4.8

5star

T

1.4

4star

G

0.0

1star

as his football icon, will bolster a young side of ruckman in Lachlan McAndrew and Will Green.

DOB: 15/04/1994
Draft: 2012
Recruited From: Melbourne FC

 

[wills2g]

drop off is huge tbh

but hes still by far our best ruckman

ladhams goes no where near the senior side, cant believe we gave him 3years

 

[Jack2Jack]

Been a great pickup and was a huge reason for 13-1. Clearly needs a rest though, just don't play him next week and get his body right for finals. We don't always manage our list the best, and Horse said they won't be resting fit players...fair enough as I guess we're chasing form, but surely this one is obvious? We need him firing.

 

[BarneyBent]

Can’t believe th drop off

He is borderline afl standard atm

Rubbish. His tapwork is still elite. His ground level stuff and physicality has obviously dropped off which indicates a tired body, and that was badly exposed a couple of times against a highly physical ruck in Draper, but his skill and effort is still there.

 

[Kbroome]

Do people realise that in the second half he actually had sub 50% TOG as such he only had 3 handballs and 6 HOs in the second half. Personally don't think 6 touches 2 tackles and 13 HOs in a half of footy isn't that rubbish. When you extrapolate that out its 12 touches 4 tackles and 26 HOs of which half of the HOs were to advantage.

 

[DobmusEdge]

drop off is huge tbh

but hes still by far our best ruckman

ladhams goes no where near the senior side, cant believe we gave him 3years

We gave him 4 years …still one to go

 

[Callipygian]

Been a great pickup and was a huge reason for 13-1. Clearly needs a rest though, just don't play him next week and get his body right for finals. We don't always manage our list the best, and Horse said they won't be resting fit players...fair enough as I guess we're chasing form, but surely this one is obvious? We need him firing.

There's fit, and there's fit. Can't see why we won't rest anyone that needs a rest. And the other players will still get a week off too.

 

[Dubai Quacker]

Terrible performance yesterday - I can’t believe some in the press are giving him a pass mark.

Ragdolled at the stoppages and his tap work was poor, up against a VFL ruckman.

Our catastrophic belting in clearances wasn’t all Grundy’s fault - but he was part of the problem.

 

[GreyGooseGuy88]

Why Grundy wasn't rested multiple times during the season was ludicrous and that blame rests on the coaches shoulders.

 

[Wheresbuddy]

I think Grundy started the season on fire as he adapted well to the rule change allowing the ruckman to block with a straight arm as long as they were contesting the ball. He would rush his opponent, shielding himself with a block and gained alot of forward momentum, both with his tap and his overall movement so he was effective once the ball hit the ground.

But as the season went on, it became clear opposition rucks decided to put more body work into Grundy. He would rush them and they would either engage him in a wrestle, often rag dolling him our of the way or push off him as he advanced to then just take the ball clean out if the ruck. This pretty much happened every game from midseason (including GF) and coincided with our slump.

Why didn't he and the coaches see what was happening and changed it up a bit? Hopefully they will work on it in the off season.

 

[KingV23]

I was very surprised he didn't get a break toward the end of the H&A season. It was pretty obvious he needed one.

 

[GoTheSwannies]

I think Grundy started the season on fire as he adapted well to the rule change allowing the ruckman to block with a straight arm as long as they were contesting the ball. He would rush his opponent, shielding himself with a block and gained alot of forward momentum, both with his tap and his overall movement so he was effective once the ball hit the ground.

But as the season went on, it became clear opposition rucks decided to put more body work into Grundy. He would rush them and they would either engage him in a wrestle, often rag dolling him our of the way or push off him as he advanced to then just take the ball clean out if the ruck. This pretty much happened every game from midseason (including GF) and coincided with our slump.

Why didn't he and the coaches see what was happening and changed it up a bit? Hopefully they will work on it in the off season.

If Cox couldn't help him overcome the issue then I have no place throwing my 2 cents in. If Cox and Grundy couldn't work out a solution together then I just feel it was too difficult, or perhaps just a deficiency in Grundys game that couldn't be solved.

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

I was very surprised he didn't get a break toward the end of the H&A season. It was pretty obvious he needed one.

The resting thing is a great hill to die on

 

[The King!]

I was very surprised he didn't get a break toward the end of the H&A season. It was pretty obvious he needed one.

I don't disagree , but he had 2 of the last 5 weeks off and it didn't quite bring him back to his best

 

[caesar88]

I'm a little bit haunted by that tweet from that Collingwood supporter who said Swans fans will experience the best of Grundy, until he gets worked out tactically and then he'll become desperate and sloppy, giving away bulk frees and taking it out of the ruck and just hack kicking it to no one all the time.

(Paraphrasing obviously - I can't find the original tweet.)

 

[GoTheSwannies]

I'm a little bit haunted by that tweet from that Collingwood supporter who said Swans fans will experience the best of Grundy, until he gets worked out tactically and then he'll become desperate and sloppy, giving away bulk frees and taking it out of the ruck and just hack kicking it to no one all the time.

(Paraphrasing obviously - I can't find the original tweet.)

Let's hope Cox puts some work in over the pre season and helps Grundy develop a couple of extra strings.

 

[caesar88]

Grundy: “I’ll spend time to reflect and process.”

The ruckman reflects on 2024 ahead of the off-season.

www.sydneyswans.com.au

 

[RedBloodBlackSwan]

I’ve gotta be honest, I know many in the media talk about how smart Grundy is, but I think he is one of those players who are intellectually smart but not footy smart (kind of the opposite of the Toby Green, or a Shane Warne if you extend to cricket).

A footy smart ruck would have found a way to make Brisbane’s backup ruck a major deficiency for their game. Instead, their mids dominated ours. From memory, Grundy’s hit out stats were good, but that is just my point, he couldn’t find a way to turn his ruck superiority into team domination.

I really do hope he is regularly rested next year, both so he can stay fresh but also give a chance to those snapping at his heels to put some real selection pressure on.

 

[Kiama Chris]

I’ve gotta be honest, I know many in the media talk about how smart Grundy is, but I think he is one of those players who are intellectually smart but not footy smart (kind of the opposite of the Toby Green, or a Shane Warne if you extend to cricket).

A footy smart ruck would have found a way to make Brisbane’s backup ruck a major deficiency for their game. Instead, their mids dominated ours. From memory, Grundy’s hit out stats were good, but that is just my point, he couldn’t find a way to turn his ruck superiority into team domination.

I really do hope he is regularly rested next year, both so he can stay fresh but also give a chance to those snapping at his heels to put some real selection pressure on.

I think he's the kind of guy who believes he can fix it. Has a strong sense of self-belief. Generally a good thing but I reckon he out thought himself and maybe our coaches (Cox?) weren't prepared to push back hard enough. So when he said "I've got this" he didn't and we weren't strong enough.
No way do we have anyone to put selection pressure on. An occasional rest and reset is a good idea though.

 

[rustycrate]

I think he's the kind of guy who believes he can fix it. Has a strong sense of self-belief. Generally a good thing but I reckon he out thought himself and maybe our coaches (Cox?) weren't prepared to push back hard enough. So when he said "I've got this" he didn't and we weren't strong enough.
No way do we have anyone to put selection pressure on. An occasional rest and reset is a good idea though.

Where were the great string of inside mids at his feet needs to be considered too. He is not an island.

 

[Kiama Chris]

Where were the great string of inside mids at his feet needs to be considered too. He is not an island.

Both things are true. In the first part of the season he was dominant and the mids and setup we had was good enough. The media were in love with us.
Brodie and the setup got figured out and then they weren't. caesar88 point about clearing the ball is extremely valid. In the first part we did, second we didn't (at least as often or as cleanly). That's where your point about more/better inside mids comes in. Long winded way of mostly agreeing.

 

[rustycrate]

Both things are true. In the first part of the season he was dominant and the mids and setup we had was good enough. The media were in love with us.
Brodie and the setup got figured out and then they weren't. caesar88 point about clearing the ball is extremely valid. In the first part we did, second we didn't (at least as often or as cleanly). That's where your point about more/better inside mids comes in. Long winded way of mostly agreeing.

I agree with 88 and you and those of a similar opinion. After the fact it seems so obvious why we went wrong in the GF and before with the slow starts IMO. The inside grunt was not there.

I am not footy smart enough to find another reason for our slow starts. To me these were worrying leading up to the GF.

I am still coming to terms with it. But I really want to know why. Why my team shit it's pants. Again. And that is the most painful thing. We don't learn from our mistakes. What is the f**kin problem. To do it again.

Well I have outlined my reason why we failed. Hopefully it is the reason. If you know the reason then you can find a solution.

I want a change to our midfield mix such that it has inside grunt. From round 1.

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

I agree with 88 and you and those of a similar opinion. After the fact it seems so obvious why we went wrong in the GF and before with the slow starts IMO. The inside grunt was not there.

I am not footy smart enough to find another reason for our slow starts. To me these were worrying leading up to the GF.

I am still coming to terms with it. But I really want to know why. Why my team shit it's pants. Again. And that is the most painful thing. We don't learn from our mistakes. What is the f**kin problem. To do it again.

Well I have outlined my reason why we failed. Hopefully it is the reason. If you know the reason then you can find a solution.

I want a change to our midfield mix such that it has inside grunt. From round 1.

They dont want it enough Rusty the desperation we show in Prelims evaporates on GF day.

There is nobody to say enough is enough/nobody like a Hodge/Kirk to steer the ship Mills as a captain is laughable.

They cant or wont rise to the occasion it is what it is.

 

[Kiama Chris]

I agree with 88 and you and those of a similar opinion. After the fact it seems so obvious why we went wrong in the GF and before with the slow starts IMO. The inside grunt was not there.

I am not footy smart enough to find another reason for our slow starts. To me these were worrying leading up to the GF.

I am still coming to terms with it. But I really want to know why. Why my team shit it's pants. Again. And that is the most painful thing. We don't learn from our mistakes. What is the f**kin problem. To do it again.

Well I have outlined my reason why we failed. Hopefully it is the reason. If you know the reason then you can find a solution.

I want a change to our midfield mix such that it has inside grunt. From round 1.

Earlier in the season we were able at different times to get our pressure up to where it needed to be, just too often not at the start. Surely that's a mental thing more than anything else. The other things that we and others have identified will all help but without the "see ball, get ball, see player, tackle player" we'll continue to fall short when it matters.

 

[grimlock]

I’ve gotta be honest, I know many in the media talk about how smart Grundy is, but I think he is one of those players who are intellectually smart but not footy smart (kind of the opposite of the Toby Green, or a Shane Warne if you extend to cricket).

A footy smart ruck would have found a way to make Brisbane’s backup ruck a major deficiency for their game. Instead, their mids dominated ours. From memory, Grundy’s hit out stats were good, but that is just my point, he couldn’t find a way to turn his ruck superiority into team domination.

I really do hope he is regularly rested next year, both so he can stay fresh but also give a chance to those snapping at his heels to put some real selection pressure on.

If you haven't seen this worth checking out. Ex-Melbourne ruck Jeff White breaks down how the Lions dominated the center bounces in the 2nd quarter. The point I found really interesting was that the Lions knew Grundy prefers to hit the ball to a certain area and hence were set up to counter this.

I think it's a bit harsh to just point it to Grundy, when this analysis would suggest the Brisbane mids were better structured (and coached?) than ours.

 

[LeapingLeo21]

If you haven't seen this worth checking out. Ex-Melbourne ruck Jeff White breaks down how the Lions dominated the center bounces in the 2nd quarter. The point I found really interesting was that the Lions knew Grundy prefers to hit the ball to a certain area and hence were set up to counter this.

I think it's a bit harsh to just point it to Grundy, when this analysis would suggest the Brisbane mids were better structured (and coached?) than ours.

The worst part for me is the first one, how can gulden let his opponent run in on the wing like that by himself, allowing him to get the handball received