Shane Mumford says he was petrified of giving away a late free kick to Brodie Grundy
It’s been the wildest of rollercoaster rides for Shane Mumford, who has come out of retirement, dealt with a cocaine controversy and had to face a rampaging Brodie Grundy in the preliminary final.
GWS
Don't miss out on the headlines from GWS. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Shane Mumford has revealed he feared losing the preliminary final with another free kick to Brodie Grundy in the agonising last minutes of Saturday’s game.
Sydney premiership player Mumford played a heroic role in the final frantic stoppages as the Giants neutralised a series of stoppages close to Collingwood’s goal.
The burly cult hero could barely believe he was in another Grand Final on Saturday after retiring in 2017, then coming back for one more year despite the controversy over a cocaine-snorting incident.
Stream every match of the 2019 Toyota AFL Finals Series before the Grand Final Live & On-Demand on KAYO SPORTS. Get your 14 day free trial and start streaming instantly >
Flanked by his parents Glenn and Janet in the rooms post-match he was battered and bruised — and utterly exhausted.
Despite Grundy’s dominant game, Mumford came up big when it mattered despite conceding six free kicks to the Pies star throughout the game.
“Wow. We just knew we had to hang on basically. We were under the pump non-stop. If anything I was probably worried about giving away another free kick in the ruck.
“But I tried to give myself a bit more space and just jump into him and nullify him. It was certainly pretty stressful when it’s locked down in their forward 50 and we are only four points up,” he said.
Mumford’s worst fear was that he would give away the free kick that cost GWS, or that Grundy would “grab it himself” out of the ruck.
“He is pretty good at grabbing it out of the ruck. He managed to do it a few times which I wasn’t too happy with. It is bound to happen at some point, he is a bloody good ruckman
“It’s pretty amazing to retire last year, have 12 months off and then be going into a Grand Final this week. It’s pretty special.”
Mumford has been honest about the 2015 cocaine episode that only emerged as he was about to return to football, believing he has changed as a person since those wild days.
“Yeah, that is the low you don’t really want to have but this is the high of all highs,” he said.
“We have our work cut out for us next weekend but we are going to give it one hell of a shot.
“I am pretty stiff and sore as you would expect when you jump into a monster like Grundy.
“The ruck free kicks I need to avoid. They are a free shot. If you slip or get someone high with a tackle that’s sometimes unavoidable. The ones in the ruck I have to avoid. I said that last week, but I have to do it again.”
Teammate Heath Shaw, the only other Giant to win a premiership, said he couldn’t admire Mumford’s effort any more.
“He was unbelievable and I think a lot of people wrote him off last week,” he said.
“Grundy is an unbelievable ruckman but the thing about Mumford is he will keep on trying.
MORE AFL
AFL Grand Final 2019: Date, time, key match-ups, tips as Richmond faces GWS Giants
Amon Buchanan explains his emotional ‘up yours’ celebration against Collingwood
AFL Grand Final: Heath Shaw wants to end his career with another premiership
“He put his hand up last week in the coaches meeting and said, ‘Don’t worry boys I will learn to ruck by next week’, and he did.
“So that’s the main thing. He played his role. It was one of the big things and he took a bit of feedback last week and came out and played really well.”
Originally published as Shane Mumford says he was petrified of giving away a late free kick to Brodie Grundy