Brodie Grundy discusses move away from Collingwood and a fresh start at Melbourne
He might be the second best ruck in the AFL, but Brodie Grundy is now also second fiddle at his new club. So how has he transitioned to a partnership with Max Gawn?
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In the Moroccan desert Brodie Grundy was able to put a line in the sand.
His 2022 was one he didn’t expect at all.
First his season was limited to just six games because of a knee and then ankle injury.
Then just barely into a big seven-year deal he signed in 2020 Collingwood convinced the dual All-Australian ruckman that he should explore options elsewhere.
Eventually a deal gets done for Grundy to get traded to Melbourne for Pick No. 27 in last year’s trade period.
Quickly after the deal is done, Grundy is out of Australia.
An avid traveller Grundy has previously tackled the Quarry Trail in Peru and has hiked Everest Base Camp during his off-seasons.
His latest one takes him to Morocco.
Along with partner Rachael, Grundy visits the historic towns and villages of the Northern African country and into the Sahara desert.
Fresh off a major change that he didn’t see coming at the start of the year, this trip comes just when Grundy needs it.
“I would say when the trade happened I knew that stuff was going down and it was probably just a really good bookend to the year, I would describe it as that,” Grundy told News Corp.
“A really nice way to (end things), I played 10 years at Collingwood and loved my time there.
“It has really shaped me and been instrumental in the person and the player I am today but I think to be able to get away and go to Morocco with Intrepid it was a really good line in the sand moment for me to go away and leave Melbourne and come back almost a new player at a new club.
“It’s almost a bit of rebirth and like coming back as an 18-year-old, starting a new club and going on that change journey.
“I was really rejuvenated by my time away and I was ready to attack the pre-season.
“So it was pretty cool, if I had stayed in Melbourne I don’t think I would have the time or the space to really process the trade and just having that time away and that perspective that travelling gives I was able to come back and feel really energised and ambitious to attack 2023.”
Grundy made the visit to Morocco with Intrepid Travel.
A voyage into the Sahara desert is a highlight from this year’s trip.
“I have never seen those sorts of stars before, it is a different combination given it is on the other side of the world,” he said.
“So you can see the Milky Way, I’m pretty sure it was Jupiter and just our guides were so well travelled and had local knowledge and history and stories
“We rode on camels in and out of the camp. It was spectacular.”
It allowed Grundy to refresh both body and mind ahead of his first season as a Demon.
“I think that is why more so the trip away was so fruitful and healing not just physically but mentally as well and to be able to come back in a mindset that was refreshed,” he said.
“Speaking to Simon (Goodwin) before I went away, because obviously you are moving clubs and you want to put your best foot forward.
“I asked if the best thing for me was to be around and train and he was really progressive in his view of getting away and doing exactly what I did.
“And having his and the Melbourne Footy Club’s blessing to go away and there wasn’t an expectation or pressure to be at a certain level in pre-season it is funny when you have that trust you probably end up doing more work.”
Grundy moves to Melbourne where the footy world will be closely watching how the Demons use him and their captain and six-time All-Australian ruckman Max Gawn.
The two have been used in tandem during the pre-season practice matches with a 50/50 split “pretty much” on the cards according to Grundy.
“I’ve started on the bench so it has been good for my ego,” he jokes.
“It has been great I have loved playing with Max and Simon has been a really tremendous coach so far.
“He instils so much belief in his players and in the team.
“It has been really quite inspiring to be honest, I have a real zest for playing in a winning side and doing what I can to contribute.
“Max is the captain and it is his team and for me being able to come across and he said he was all in on me coming across so that was a really cool sign coming from someone of his calibre.
“It has been really cool. I have been really open minded on it. I think the fans are still wondering how it is all going to land.
“But behind the scenes we are still super excited about what it can be and we are going to see the start of that soon.”
The nicknames for the Demons’ star ruck pairing have come thick and fast.
There’s ‘Gawndy’, ‘Grawn’ and the ‘Tap Brothers’.
Grundy said he and Gawn might come up with their own moniker.
“There is a push internally to come up with something of our own, but we haven’t quite hit the nail on the head yet,” he said.
“We are putting our heads together, we like to split the atoms us ruckmen. We like to make things as complicated as we can.
“When we know we will make it public.”
REVEALED: WHY GRUNDY TURNED DOWN THE POWER
Brodie Grundy has revealed Port Adelaide made a “really impressive” pitch to lure him back to South Australia, but he didn’t want to leave Melbourne.
The two-time All-Australian ruck was encouraged by Collingwood to look for a new home, just years into a big seven-year deal.
The 28-year-old eventually was traded to Melbourne for pick No. 27 in last year’s trade period.
But the Power made a bid to bring the Sturt product back to Adelaide.
“We spoke with Port Adelaide and they were really impressive,” Grundy told News Corp.
“My brother played there for a couple of years and he couldn’t speak highly enough of their culture and what they are like as a football club.
“But for me it was just being so settled in Melbourne. I never thought when I signed my long-term contract that I would be leaving Melbourne.
“I have bought a home here and am feeling really settled, it was fortunate that Melbourne were interested and I jumped at that opportunity.
“You don’t want to waste anyone’s time, we just didn’t know what was going to happen so you had to have those sorts of conversations and explore it.”
The Power, who had Brodie’s younger brother Riley on their list for two years, suffered a ruck shortage in 2022 when Scott Lycett went down with a shoulder injury in round 4.
After he was traded to Melbourne, Grundy went to Morocco through Intrepid Travel.
He said the experiences he had exploring Morocco allowed him to truly process the big move ahead of starting pre-season at the Demons.
“It was certainly an unfamiliar feeling and that’s when I reflect back on it and now coming back to pre-season it was like I was 18 again,” he said.
“You go through the draft process, speak to clubs, there is a little bit of turbulence. You don’t know where you are going to land and what is happening.
“And so coming back it was all these emotions that I hadn’t felt since I was a young lad entering the system.
“It has kept me honest, it has been a really healthy process. I thought the way it was handled was really respectful and mature from both parties.
“I think in the long run it is going to be really good for me in my personal environment to experience change in my professional environment.”
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