Brodie Grundy opens up on being traded from Melbourne to Sydney Swans

Brodie Grundy has opened up on his “sobering” VFL experience and why his ill-fated partnership with Max Gawn at Melbourne didn’t work out.

Brodie Grundy.

New Swan Brodie Grundy admits playing in the VFL for Casey Demons was the catalyst for him seeking a move away from Melbourne less than 12 months after joining the club.

Grundy said while he never became disenfranchised with the Demons and wanted to play a role in their finals run, when it became clear that he wasn’t part of their first team plans in the future, he knew the decision had to be made.

“Playing VFL, it’s pretty sobering when you get dropped,” Grundy told Triple M’s The Rush Hour.

“A big part of what we do is our jobs, we got a lot of satisfaction out of that. When that isn’t where we want to be, it’s hard to reconcile.

“For me, getting towards the end of my career, I want to be able to maximise my time playing AFL footy.

“I’ve tried to be as professional as I can be. At the time I was employed by the Melbourne Football Club to come in, play, challenge Max (Gawn) at training and play on Steven May and Jake Lever in the forward line.

Brodie Grundy says playing in the VFL was “sobering”. Picture: Josh Chadwick/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“I wanted to give it a go and see if I could play finals, come in and kick some goals. But it wasn’t to be.

“We had a mutual conversation towards the end … I spoke to Goody (Simon Goodwin), and we were having conversations all the way through.

“Hand on heart, I don’t have a bad word to say about Melbourne. The people there are fantastic. For what it’s worth, I enjoyed my time there.

“My two hours on the weekend just wasn’t where I wanted to be. I’m here to play AFL footy, that’s what led me to Sydney and I’m looking forward to making it there.”

Question marks were raised over his initial move to play with the Demons on how he would fit into a side that already had an All-Australian ruckman in Max Gawn.

Grundy suggested that Gawn’s quality was always going to make that a challenge.

“Max is a great player,” he said. “And I can get that, I sort of made myself redundant there.

“The pitch was great, and I really wanted to see that through. Things can change, you’ve got to be agile in these times, you can’t stay static.

“It was in the best interest of both parties again (to move), hopefully, it’s fruitful up in Sydney.”

Grundy sought a fresh start and has been traded to Sydney. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

After requesting a move from Melbourne, it was reported that Grundy was set to return to his home state and play with Port Adelaide.

However, he was convinced by the Swans’ pitch to move to Sydney. Grundy confirmed that he and his partner Rachael Wertheim have already locked away a place in North Bondi to live, even if his mother wasn’t completely happy with the decision.

“Mum was a bit flat [when I didn’t choose Port Adelaide],” Grundy said.

“Ultimately, we felt for me and my partner that it was the best thing for my footy up in Sydney.”

Grundy is set to link up with the Swans in the first week of December and he hopes to hit the ground running in a side set up for premiership success.

While he doesn’t know many of the players at the club, he’s looking forward to rekindling his relationship with former Pies teammate Taylor Adams and making the most of the SCG as a smaller venue.

“I spoke to Tay who is coming up to Sydney as well, I’m excited about what that looks like for us on the field,” Grundy said. “For the Swans fans, and for me personally having someone that I’ve played a lot of footy with straight off the bat.

“It’s a smaller ground. Contested, that’s sort of my brand. Hopefully, stay out there as long as I can and have some impact.”

Originally published as Brodie Grundy opens up on being traded from Melbourne to Sydney Swans