Could Brodie Grundy’s Melbourne career be over before it really started?

It was the addition that was going to help Max Gawn win another flag. But with the dual All-Australian ruck expirement seemingly having failed, is Brodie Grundy done as a Demon too?

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – FEBRUARY 24: Brodie Grundy and Max Gawn of the Demons pose for a photo during the 2023 AFL match simulation between the St Kilda Saints and the Melbourne Demons at RSEA Park on February 24, 2023 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Max Gawn is forever the good guy.

In the afterglow of Friday night’s exhilarating win over Brisbane, the Melbourne skipper said he had not given up on Brodie Grundy in a shared ruck role.

“I’m still dedicated to making that work,” Gawn said.

“Obviously tonight I went in with a different plan but I think it could be a real powerhouse, myself and Brodie.

“Brodie’s taken it like a man, he’s going to go down (to the VFL) and work as a forward.’’

It was a staunch show of support from Gawn, but did anyone really agree with him?

That the two of them in the same team makes Melbourne a better team?

Not after what we witnessed at the MCG on Friday night.

What was powerhouse was Gawn’s solo performance. It was like normal transmission had resumed.

It was the highest rated performance in his past 74 matches.

It was the highest rated performance by any ruckman this season.

Only twice has a ruckman recorded 25+ disposals, 15 hit outs to advantage and 10+ clearances in a match – Gawn on Friday night and Gawn in 2019.

Gawn may want Grundy riding shotgun with him, but on available evidence, Grundy’s season is near enough kaput.

Gawn was colossal against Brisbane last Friday night. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin played his hand alright, and Gawn drew the aces and Grundy drew a pair of twos and is now embarking on a three-week study trip to learn forward craft in the VFL.

Three weeks or six weeks, you can’t teach a ruckman the nuances of playing key forward.

Like, where to run, when to run, the use of the body. Grundy is a Statue of Liberty forward who doesn’t kick goals. He has kicked 10 goals from 16 games.

Five-time premiership forward Dermott Brereton says Grundy is in trouble.

In fact, Brereton believes the natural key-forward player is being eroded from the game, as clubs deploy natural ruckmen to the big forward posts.

“We are losing the art of the key forward posts,’’ Brereton said.

“The reason being every kid who comes out of the under-18 competition and who isn’t over 202cm, they turn into a key forward.

“Suddenly a kid who’s that size and has been the ruckman in his team all his life, we draft them and turn them into key forwards.

“The art of playing key forward is being eroded and Brodie Grundy is being asked to go down there and learn it. You can’t learn it. It’s as much as I can learn to play first rover. I’m just not capable.’’

Is the Gawn and Grundy experiment already over? (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Brereton says Grundy can survive as ruckman but not as a forward.

“If you want to turn him into a key forward it’s going to be very difficult to learn,’’ he said.

“The three things you have to understand is the trigger moment of when to move. If you miss it by half a second and a Steven May will get there before you do, a Sam Taylor will beat you to the drop of the ball.

“Two, you have to be able to run sideways which Brodie can’t and you just have to have more to your game than leading out with your back to the goal and marking the ball.’’

He likened Grundy to West Coast’s Nic Naitanui.

“People ask me: Can Nic Naitanui play key forward? Never in his life could he play as a key forward. When he was struggling in the ruck, they used to play him key forward and it was hard for him.

“The reason is every bit of good play Nic Naitanui did was at the centre bounce and you know why, he knew the ball was going to be there. When you then say to Nic, go to full forward and you draw the ball, you find the ball, he couldn’t do it.

“It is utterly foreign to what he is schooled in.’’

A third club for Grundy was not out of the question, Brereton said.

“Brodie’s season is in trouble, but his career isn’t. He just has to become a first ruckman again, whether that’s at Melbourne or somewhere else.’’

Grundy has been sent to the VFL to work on his forward craft. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

No, Grundy ain’t coming back as a swashbuckling key forward, and he ain’t coming back and kicking Gawn out of the centre square.

So, Grundy ain’t coming back full stop.

Goodwin unlocked the blueprint when he axed Grundy.

Fox Footy analyst David King described it as courageous coaching. Goodwin also yanked Christian Petracca out of the midfield to play forward, when Clayton Oliver was unavailable, and that’s also worked. Petracca has kicked eight goals in two weeks.

It’s a fine line between courageous coaching and desperate coaching, but when it works, there’s no going back.

Save for an injury to Gawn, Grundy’s senior career at the Demons could be at an end after just 16 games.

Originally published as Could Brodie Grundy’s Melbourne career be over before it really started?