Brodie Grundy and Collingwood remain apart in contract talks over mooted seven-year mega deal
Magpies coach Nathan Buckley says there’s “a lot of unknowns” when it comes to long-term deals, as the Pies resist Brodie Grundy’s push for a seven-year contract.
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Nathan Buckley has poured cold water on Brodie Grundy’s push for a seven-year deal — a day after the ruckman took Essendon apart with another masterful display.
Grundy isn’t out of contract until he becomes a free agent at the end of 2020, but this year’s handful of discussions on a new deal have exposed a difference of opinion.
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It is known that Grundy, at 25 and the best ruckman in the game, is chasing a seven-year deal his camp insists is commensurate with a player of his standing and durability.
But Collingwood doesn’t like the length of the proposed deal, has concerns over the longevity of ruckmen and is aware it needs to save coin for its battery of A-graders.
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Buckley suggested on Saturday there was too much uncertainty for the club to be locked into such a long-term contract with a player.
“We want Brodie to be a one-club player and we think he’ll play seven years-plus with Collingwood over the entirety of his career, but there’s just a lot of unknowns,” Buckley told 3AW.
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“It really is horses for courses, but longer contracts, whether it’s a philosophy or whether it's the club having to find a happy medium between where it sits and what the player wants, but at any given point we need to make decisions that are best for the club.
“We’re going to look after Brodie as much as we possibly can and he’s aware of that as well.
“There’s no real frustration, there’s just a dialogue and a discussion and there might have been two or three conversations over the last nine months.”
Grundy was huge against the Bombers and Tom Bellchambers on Friday night.
He had 33 disposals, 35 hit-outs, seven clearances, six marks and six score involvements and shapes as one of the Pies’ primary weapons in its finals push.