The fives club that should be monitoring Grundy’s situation at Dees
Melbourne insisted on Thursday that Brodie Grundy was going nowhere, but if he continues to toil away in the VFL, is he up for grabs? Jon Ralph assesses the clubs who might be in play.
Melbourne’s public statement that it wasn’t interested in trading Brodie Grundy on Thursday worked on multiple levels.
Simon Goodwin on Thursday attempted to douse trade talk and the main reason is that Melbourne desperately wants to make the Brodie Grundy-Max Gawn experiment work.
But if the Demons do end up considering a trade it also made clear they won’t be handing Grundy over on the cheap for rivals who already sniff “blood in the water”.
The one storyline lost in the controversy over Grundy’s future is that for 10 weeks they believed it was succeeding.
In round 10 the 7-3 Demons were the No. 1 offensive team in footy and Grundy had kicked seven goals, had eight direct score assists and 47 score involvements.
When Gawn and Grundy were rucking together they were making it work as Grundy made a passable impression of a ruck-forward.
And with Gawn injured from early in round 2 until round 6, Grundy was on fire in another reminder of why the Demons wanted ruck depth.
He amassed twenty one possessions, 10 hit-outs to advantage and 143 ranking points against Sydney then 22 possessions and 13 hit-outs to advantage and 144 ranking points against West Coast.
In round 5 it was 128 ranking points, 18 touches and 12 hit-outs to advantage against Essendon, before Gawn returned and Grundy went back to his forward-ruck role.
So in the best case scenario Grundy finds some VFL form and the trade talk goes away.
But the more important question is whether Grundy will want to be traded if he cannot win back his AFL spot by year’s end?
If Gawn continues to dominate and the forward line clicks in a way that makes it obvious he does not have a role there in future seasons.
His most recent sample size (rounds 3-5) shows he is so obviously an elite ruckman and a fairly average forward who always believed he would split ruck time with Gawn.
For Melbourne, they cannot cast aside Grundy and run Max Gawn into the ground with massive game time that shortens his career.
But they could assess the market and consider a win-win deal that might secure them a forward-ruckman who better suits their purposes than the Gawn-Grundy arrangement.
There are half a dozen clubs who would be prepared to consider a 29-year-old elite ruckman if they only had to pay him $650,000 and offer up a second or third-round pick.
So what happens to Collingwood’s portion of the contract, which is believed to be around $250,000 of a total deal variously reported as between $900,00-$1 million a season?
The AFL has no rules against three clubs each paying part of an AFL contract.
It declined to clarify its position yesterday when asked if a club like Collingwood would have to continue paying a portion of an initial contract if a team like Melbourne on-traded him to a third club.
Collingwood and Melbourne will have signed an agreement explicitly stating the Pies’ portion of the deal and their responsibilities across a contract running to 2027.
Industry figures this week said the Pies would not be able to extricate themselves from that commitment even if the Demons moved Grundy on.
They are paying a quarter of his wage for the next four years and it doesn’t matter where he plays
But depending on how Grundy’s situation plays out this year rivals might ask Melbourne to pay a portion of the remaining deal.
“Ultimately Melbourne have to decide if they let him go but a club might say we would pay $650,000 of his salary and give up a third-round pick or they might pay $750,000 of his salary and give up a fourth-round pick,” one recruiter said.
“For clubs like Port Adelaide and St Kilda and West Coast who might want him, they will sniff blood in the water so they won’t want to cover the whole contract.”
So Melbourne will hold its position until season’s end, aware Grundy will not be satisfied running around at ovals like Coburg’s Piranha Park hoping his forward craft improves.
If their hand was eventually forced — by Gawn’s continued dominance or a Grundy trade request — they would only move him on if they could find a replacement.
Insurance ruckmen come cheap — around $130,000 plus match payments — for a pure backup secured as a delisted free agent like Tom Campbell or Levi Casboult.
But there are very few forward-rucks on the market, who would better compliment Gawn playing most of their time forward with 10 minutes a quarter on the ball.
It is a very specific skill set, which is why Rory Lobb got paid more than $500,000 a season to leave Fremantle for the Western Bulldogs.
Unless Melbourne can find a Hayden McLean or Peter Ladhams type – capable of playing an 80-20 forward ruck split – they may choose to hang onto Grundy for another year regardless of how satisfied he feels.
By the end of 2024 their deals for Ben Brown and Tom McDonald will have expired and they might have more cap flexibility to find an A grade forward who can chop out Gawn in the ruck.
Although by the 2025 season Gawn will be 33.
For Melbourne retaining Grundy – as a back-up in case of a Gawn injury and as an eventual successor – makes sense.
So it will take Grundy to force a trade.
Which clubs would consider him as an elite 29-year-old ruckman if he could find a new home?
PORT ADELAIDE
The obvious home.
They were keen last year and met with Grundy and are keen again.
There is uncertainty about Scott Lycett’s future on an expiring deal identical to what they would pay for Grundy.
They also have an out-of-contract forward in Mitch Georgiades who would perfect fit the Demons forward needs, but not the ruck back-up for Gawn.
And if Grundy did want to maximise his career it would be rucking to the brilliant trio of Connor Rozee, Zac Butters and Jason Horne-Francis.
Watch this space.
GEELONG
The Cats have interest in Tom De Koning and Sean Darcy, with Darcy’s mid-season talks now pushing out to the end of the season.
That has raised eyebrows with those who continue to link him to Geelong.
Chris Scott likes athletic ruckmen who can get across the ground, and Grundy fits the bill.
And put it this way – do they prolong their premiership window more by keeping Esava Ratugolea on a fat deal or bringing in the first elite ruckman they have had since Brad Ottens?
Grundy is 29 but bridges the gap between the current era and their future, with the Cats still hopeful Toby Conway becomes a quality ruckman after an impressive VFL return after foot issues last weekend.
SYDNEY
Tom Hickey will be 33 in March next year and was dropped last week while Peter Ladhams has had form and injury issues.
Lachie McAndrew is an exciting talent and contracted to 2024 but not yet ready.
If the Swans secure Tom Barass instead of Sam De Koning, why wouldn’t they consider Grundy?
Their cap is tight, with CEO Tom Harley continually making clear clearing Lance Franklin’s cap space of the past decade doesn’t automatically clear $1 million for future years given they have allocated it elsewhere.
But they have their own suite of draft picks and Hawthorn’s second and third-rounders so could easily get a deal done.
FREMANTLE
The Dockers believe pre-agent Sean Darcy will re-sign at the end of the year on a long-term lucrative deal but until he does they will need to assess the ruck market.
Fremantle is still a young side – as they continue to stress as the Dockers plunge down the ladder – but there will be no respite for Justin Longmuir next year if he cannot get off to a hot start.
So the Dockers would be interested observers in the ruck space rather than active participants as they assess Darcy’s contract talks.
If Darcy deal leave it would be for multiple early selections so they would have ample picks to satisfy Melbourne in a trade.
CARLTON
What is Carlton’s fall-back position if Tom De Koning does leave?
Their issue is Marc Pittonet, signed for four years, is an outstanding tap ruckman who doesn’t give much around the ground.
They would be more likely to secure a cheap ruck backup like Darcy Fort or Todd Goldstein but De Koning’s round-the-ground work in recent weeks makes clear Pittonet’s limitations.
His hit-outs go to advantage nearly one in five times – brilliant stuff – but he has taken only 19 marks in 11 games, hasn’t kicked a goal, has a poor pressure rating and kicks the ball at 38 per cent accuracy.
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