Crows coach Don Pyke not interested in talking about whether he’s interested in Collingwood ruckman Brodie Grundy

Crows coach Don Pyke is far more interested in re-signing Reilly O’Brien than entering into any conversation about the possibility of the club securing Brodie Grundy.

Reilly O'Brien of the Crows. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images)

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The Crows’ new No. 1 ruckman, Reilly O’Brien, is having a stellar season, and coach Don Pyke — thrilled at his development — is keen to see the big man back in Adelaide colours next year.

Pyke has revealed the club is talking to O’Brien’s management about a contract extension as he responded to questions about the likelihood of Adelaide chasing Collingwood ruckman, Brodie Grundy.

Brodie Grundy of the Magpies (centre) reacts after kicking a goal during his huge effort against Western Bulldogs on Sunday. Picture: AAP Image/Julian Smith

“We’ve got a guy right now that’s doing a really good job for us that we want to re-sign,” Pyke said of O’Brien’s breakout season.

“Reilly’s been super impressive, which has been wonderful — it’s great reward for him for the effort he’s put in. We’ve got Sauce (Sam Jacobs) playing good footy at the SANFL level and at the moment being held out by Reilly … we’re in a great position, we’ve got two guys vying for the one spot.”

The coach was uninterested in engaging in “what-ifs” about Grundy making a return to his home state of SA.

“It’s that time of year where we start talking about every player who might be available … my view has always been pretty simplistic,” Pyke said.

Adelaide is working to reward Reilly O'Brien for his stellar form this season. Picture SARAH REED

“If someone’s interested and they’re a good player, every club is going to be interested, that is just reality. But I think there’s a time and a place to communicate regarding players and this is probably not a good time or a good place.

“Let’s deal with the ‘known knowns’ — we have a player at the moment who is performing strongly that we’ve got four or five years of development in, that we want to keep at the footy club. So that’s the conversation at the moment.

“Everything else is just, I don’t know, out there in the ether … may happen, may not.”

Pyke said O’Brien’s development this season meant the 201cm big man could now head into games confident he was an AFL ruckman and that he was good enough to succeed at that level.