By Sam McClure
The intriguing game of poker surrounding the future of Melbourne back-up ruckman Brodie Grundy has gone quiet.
Port Adelaide and Sydney, both in need of a first-choice tap ruckman, are keeping their cards close to their chest. Geelong, who have just moved tables having missed out on Carlton young gun Tom De Koning, are still deciding whether they want to be dealt into the hand.
AFL ruckman Brodie Grundy - what’s next for him?Credit: Getty Images
And there sit the Demons, saying nothing and doing nothing. Their tinted sunglasses and straight faces make them impossible to read. But all other players are convinced they’re holding a pair of aces.
Grundy has found himself stuck in the VFL after the dual ruck combination with Max Gawn that was sold to Grundy before he made the move to Melbourne hasn’t worked out the way
all parties had hoped.
The two-time All-Australian and two-time Collingwood best and fairest has four full seasons remaining on a contract not far short of $1 million a year, with the Magpies paying a substantial portion of that after forcing him out due to a bulging salary cap.
Gawn, who played his 200th game in Sunday’s win over Hawthorn and turns 32 just before the new year, has two more seasons on his deal, having signed a four-year extension in early 2021.
Two sources close to Grundy, who chose to speak on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, told this column Grundy does not want to spend potentially half of the rest of his contract as the second-choice ruckman. And who could blame him?
Melbourne’s gamble to recruit Grundy in the first place may not necessarily have
paid off, but their lost chips on the table have been subsidised by another top-four competitor.
That Collingwood are struggling to identify their first-choice ruckman so close to the start of another finals campaign has not been lost to clubs The Scoop has spoken to this week.
Darcy Cameron, whose rise in stocks last year contributed to Collingwood’s belief that it could survive without Grundy, has lost form and Craig McRae has admitted in recent weeks
that his coaching group is still working out how to utilise American Mason Cox.
But the reason betting has stopped in the Grundy game is that everyone is waiting for Melbourne to make a move. Ultimately, if they don’t want to trade Grundy, he will have to stay at the Demons.
No AFL player has moved to a third club with the previous two funding parts of his contract. But if Grundy were to move in the trade period, Port Adelaide and Sydney would almost certainly inquire about the possibility. After all, they will argue, the Demons don’t view him in their best 22. How many other ruckmen, who have spent significant time in the VFL this season, would move to a club on such big money.
Funding part of Grundy’s move would certainly ensure an increase in trade value, but a second-round draft pick doesn’t really help a team trying to win its second premiership
in three seasons.
Two Melbourne club sources not authorised to speak publicly on the matter said Grundy was viewed at Melbourne as an excellent character and a leader and that finding himself in the VFL was simply the result of poor timing.
He’s completing his masters and has only recently purchased property in Victoria so moving interstate is unlikely to be his preference.
And even if he eventually comes around to the idea of playing for a third club in three seasons, his current employer will be dictating the play.
BRING ON THE PIES
Much of the discussion heading into round 24 surrounds North Melbourne’s clash with Gold Coast, and how a win over the Suns would cost the Kangaroos the No. 1 draft pick. Given how the system is set up, many would argue North have an incentive to lose; a topic that was debated on Nine’s Footy Classified this week.
But if you look at the other end of the ladder, a situation may be developing where Melbourne are arguably better off with a loss.
You see, depending on results in the games between Port Adelaide and Richmond, and Brisbane Lions and St Kilda, Melbourne’s game against Sydney at the SCG on Sunday could decide whether the Demons end up travelling in the first week of finals or play a “home” qualifying final at the MCG against Collingwood, who they beat earlier in the year in the King’s Birthday clash.
If one of Port or Brisbane lose, the Demons will have to play interstate in week one if they beat the Swans. Unless Collingwood lose on Friday night to Essendon, 126-point losers to Greater Western Sydney last weekend.
A marketing email sent by the club to sponsors and high-profile supporters acknowledged the relevance of the result: “Round 24 in Sydney is a game that will tell us a lot - is it a home final for week one or are we packing our bags to go interstate? We are hoping to be home and take down The Pies at the G! Time will tell ...”
Now, that message is not coming from the football department, but we think the email speaks for the vast majority of Demons supporters. The club chose not to comment.
DOGS DAY OUT
Gone are the days when a struggling team would can training and head to the pub for some team bonding.
But on Tuesday the Western Bulldogs – who have lost two on the trot and are at risk of missing finals – had a light run in the morning before heading to the Mona Castle (part-owned by best-and-fairest winner and spiritual leader Tom Liberatore) in Seddon, just a few minutes from the Whitten Oval.
Instead of the amber fluids, mineral waters were flowing for the players, who sat and listened to Josh Bruce’s retirement speech. It wasn’t just the players who came along, with coach Luke Beveridge, football boss Chris Grant and CEO Ameet Bains all in attendance.
Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge.Credit: AFL Photos / Getty Images
While most players left after about an hour, superstar captain Marcus Bontempelli was one of the last to leave. Despite the Dogs’ torrid run of late, “The Bont” has enjoyed another stellar season and is expected to be somewhere near the top of the leaderboard come Brownlow Medal night.
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