Grundy and Gawn set to battle as the game’s best ruckmen meet on Queen’s Birthday Monday
GENUINE one-on-one match-ups in which two of the game’s best players go head-to-head are rare, but we’ll see one at the opening bounce on Monday when Brodie Grundy stares down Max Gawn.
Collingwood
Don't miss out on the headlines from Collingwood. Followed categories will be added to My News.
FORGET David and Goliath, this is Goliath and Goliath.
Brodie Grundy versus Max Gawn is the ultimate game-within-a-game — the AFL’s two most in-form ruckman set to lock horns in the most-hyped Queen’s Birthday match in a decade between Melbourne and Collingwood.
ADAM COONEY: WHY I LOVED STATE OF ORIGIN
TRADE TV: BOMBERS SHOULD CHASE POWER STAR
The 203cm Grundy and 208cm Gawn are locked in a season-long battle for All-Australian honours, but that rivalry will narrow sharply when they stand opposite each other at the opening bounce at the MCG on Monday afternoon.
They are the game’s premier big men with premier midfields underneath them, but they remain a contrast in styles at the same time.
Grundy is more dangerous around the ground, averaging 21.6 disposals (ranked No.\1 among ruckmen), 13.1 contested possessions (1st) and 5.2 clearances (1st) per game.
While Gawn is no slouch when it comes to getting his hands on the footy, his real dominance has come via his bread and butter ruckwork, producing more hitouts-to-advantage than anyone else.
Gawn is also No.1 when it comes to score involvements. Grundy is No.2.
But the flow-on effect from their ruckwork will be significant, given they pilot two of the most powerful engine rooms in the competition.
Melbourne and Collingwood possess the best contested possession onball divisions in the business, averaging a contested possession differential of +19.2 (1st) and +8.8 (2nd) respectively.
This is where the Dees, a dominant leader in this category at 10.4 more than the second-placed Pies each week, really benefit from Gawn’s hitout influence.
Both midfields are ball hogs. Collingwood’s midfield rank No. 1 for disposal differential and Melbourne is No.2. The Demons’ engine room is No. 1 for inside 50m differential and the Pies’ No.4. Clearance differential is Collingwood third and Melbourne fifth.
Grundy v Gawn and the respective midfield’s underneath them loom as the most fierce battle we’ve witnessed this season.
Brad Ottens, a three-time premiership ruckman at Geelong and now the Cats’ part-time ruck coach, is relishing the one-on-one match-up in an era where there’s precious few.
“It’s good to see two guys go head-to-head and just battle it out. Particularly two guys who are among the handful of best players in the competition,” Ottens said.
“We don’t really see the best midfielders play on each other, so to see two big blokes going at it … we don’t get that opportunity in footy much any more.”
Asked who he would pick first in the schoolyard, Ottens couldn’t split them.
“Gawn is in amazing form and he’s doing it week after week. He has had a huge impact on games and so has Grundy for that matter. The way he gets more than 20 possessions each week is amazing,” he said.
“It’s great to see big guys having a big influence on their teams. It shows the value of the position, I suppose.”
Watch every match of every round of the 2018 Toyota AFL Premiership Season. SIGN UP NOW >
Revealed: Roos’ shock play for premiership Pie
North Melbourne is desperate for more experience on its list, and while chasing Luke Parker, Jack Darling and Caleb Daniel, JAY CLARK reveals they also made a bold play for a Premiership pie.
Race for trade period’s hottest property goes into overdrive
The list of clubs interested in Gold Coast’s sought-after pick 13 is growing, complicating Collingwood’s efforts to wrench Dan Houston out of Port Adelaide in a trade.