Sydney defender Heath Grundy to pass Brett Kirk’s record for games played by a Swans rookie
FEW players in the AFL do inconspicuous like Heath ‘Reg’ Grundy. This week against Adelaide he will quietly move past a club legend for the most games played off the rookie list.
AFL News
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
FEW players in the AFL do inconspicuous like Heath Grundy.
On Friday night against Adelaide at the SCG the defender will quietly move past Brett Kirk’s 241 games as the most played by a Swan from the rookie list.
Like Kirk, he came from humble footy beginnings and had a couple of stumbles along the way. But once he had established himself, he was impossible to drop.
DIFFERENT STROKES: SUPERCOACH POINTS OF DIFFERENCE
REPORT CARD: EVERY CLUB RATED AFTER FOUR ROUNDS
Impossible to drop and equally hard to move, the man with a backside like a brick outhouse and nicknamed ‘Reg’ is the immovable object and the irresistible force of Sydney’s backline.
Very rarely beaten one on one, he is a key reason why the Swans have been so hard to score against for so long.
“Reg has been a great servant of our footy club,” Kirk told the Daily Telegraph.
“To come off the rookie list you are a player who is determined and desperate. You live on the fringe and on the edge early in your career. He was very quiet and unassuming when he got here but has been a strong leader for a long time. He provides a really strong backbone to our back six.”
A key member of the 2012 premiership team, the longer the 31 year old has gone the better he has become. His last two seasons have been the best of his career, finishing third and sixth in the Bob Skilton Medal.
“From the outside he looks quiet and unassuming but underneath he has a strong resolve,” Kirk.
“He plays a really tough brand of footy but has a really caring side to his nature as well.”
Kirk and Grundy played five seasons together from 2006 to 2010 with Grundy only realising he had drawn level with his former skipper after last week’s win over the Bulldogs.
“It’s pretty special really,” Grundy said.
“Brett is one of the club’s greats, so to be able to play as many games as him is an honour.”
Grundy said the rookie list route did him no harm in his development as an AFL player.
“Growing up in South Australia I was lucky enough to play for the state and make All Australian but when you get to an AFL club it’s a reality check and you learn things don’t always go your way,” Grundy said.
“From there you get on with it and as long as you have a crack and do your best, anything is possible. You work on the areas you need to improve on.”
When Grundy was picked up at number 42 in the 2005 rookie draft, few would have predicted the impact he would have, nor his longevity.
He has the longest sequence of consecutive games for any current Swan (69 matches) and has already moved past club greats Leo Barry (237) and Bob Skilton (237) this season.
Daryn Cresswell (244), Mark Bayes (246), Steve Wright (246) and Mark Browning (251) are all within striking distance this year.
Grundy’s record is certain to be threatened in the coming seasons and decades with a host of rookie-listed players on his heels.
Kieren Jack (233), Nick Smith (195), Dane Rampe (119) and Jake Lloyd (95) Tom Papley (44) could all give his mark a shake.
LIVE stream the 2018 Toyota AFL Premiership on FOX SPORTS. Every match of every round LIVE in HD, with no ad-breaks siren-to-siren! Get your 2-week free trial now.