AFL news 2024: Brodie Grundy on Ginni, his rollercoaster over the past two seasons and why he’s playing as well as he ever has

Finally, Brodie Grundy is in reach of a flag. The Swan speaks to LACHLAN McKIRDY about Jack Ginnivan’s controversial social media post — and his crazy ride to a preliminary final at Sydney.

Swans ruckman Brodie Grundy might not have engaged with his former Pies teammate Jack Ginnivan’s cheeky social media comment during the week. Still, he believes there’s an important place in the AFL for characters like the young Hawks forward.

It was Grundy’s innocent celebration of the Swans’ qualifying final win that unwittingly turned into a source of motivation for their preliminary final opponents, Port Adelaide.

“See you in 14 days,” Ginnivan posted on Grundy’s carousel of behind-the-scenes pictures from the SCG last week.

The tongue-in-cheek comment might have been said in humour, but Port Adelaide players and coaches conceded it influenced the build-up to their dramatic three-point win over the Hawks on Friday night.

Ginnivan was in the thick of the action after a cheeky comment that fired up Port Adelaide before the semi final. Picture: James Elsby/AFL Photos via Getty Images

And although it might not have been Grundy’s style, he thinks the footy world should be celebrating players like Ginnivan who bring even more to the game.

“Jack, he’s a character and he’s an entertainer as well and that’s what I love about him,” Grundy said.

“He brings eyes to our game, which I think is cool. And you know, as an industry, we want to have personality and I think we should celebrate that.

“I obviously didn’t entertain in the chat, perhaps maybe I’m a little bit wiser. But yeah, I love what he brings to our game.”

Grundy and the Swans had the benefit of putting their feet up and watching the bruising encounter on Friday night.

Following an intense year where he has had to adjust to increased game time, he admits the chance to let his body rest is important ahead of Sydney’s most important match of the year.

Grundy feels his body feels as fresh as it has all year after two byes in three weeks. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“(My body) feels good now,” Grundy said. “It was good to have a bye leading into finals and have a bye this week.

“I probably haven’t done this sort of workload for two seasons now. Obviously, last year I was playing like 60 per cent of games when I was in the AFL, and half of that was forward. And then the year before, I was injured.

“So from a personal perspective, I’m really pleased that I’ve been able to be resilient and play some good footy for the side.”

The preliminary final next Friday will be Grundy’s 25th match of the season. Only once in his 12-year career has he ever played more games. But despite being consistently one of the best ruckmen in the competition, he feels he has developed his game more this season in Sydney than any other year.

Under the guidance of John Longmire and assistant Dean Cox, Grundy has added new skills to his tool bag and proved the missing piece to the Swans’ midfield puzzle.

Grundy’s former combatant Dean Cox has become a key mentor for the Sydney ruckman. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

“I feel like I’m learning as much as I have in my time,” he said. “Under John, and I spend a lot of time with Dean Cox, I just feel like I’m learning the most I have from a technical aspect of my craft this year.

“I’ve been bringing a really studious mentality to my preparation under Dean with reviewing.

“When he signalled that he wasn’t going to go for that West Coast job, I was pretty happy. I let him know that, I texted him pretty much straight away.

“I’ve just loved working with the midfield group. I feel like as much as I help them, they help me. I’ve formed a really great bond with Errol, Chad and Heens and I get so much joy out of seeing them do the things that they do, and helping them play well and succeed.

“(John) has been really permissive in terms of allowing me to just be that (contested follow-up) player, and not putting too much expectation on being this all-encompassing superstar.

The 30-year-old’s bond with some of Sydney’s younger players has unlocked even more enjoyment out of footy for Grundy. Picture: Phil Hillyard

“I try to stay pretty level. I’m 30 now, so I feel like I’ve done the roller coaster. I’m sort of a bit over that. It’s sort of a bit draining. And this is a great club and a great city to jump off the roller coaster on.”

While Grundy’s role is to just be a link in the chain of how the Swans want to play, there’s no doubt he is integral to their premiership chances.

He considers the qualifying final victory over the Giants as one of the “top two wins” of his career. If they go all the way in September, it’s fair to say it might be relegated from that pedestal.

“I think I’ve got really good perspective,” he said. “But the perspective would suggest this is a rarity. It doesn’t come around often, so you have to enjoy it and I will.”