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1 minute ago, binman said:

Strawbs was a bloody good ruck man.

Very underrated - perhaps because he looked a little ungainly.

But in many ways he was ahead of his time - like Maxy, very tall but super athletic.

And smart - he had the knack of all really good footballers - he got to the right spots 

Unlike Max he had a fair bit of agro. 

 
8 minutes ago, MrFreeze said:

In a lot of ways, Grundy is a fully realised Jackson.

Both have basketball backgrounds and can play as an extra midfielder. While Jackson is more agile and has that Nic Nat style x factor, Grundy is a better mark, better tap ruckman and a probably a better forward. 

Jackson also did not have the tank and ability to play full ruck duties while Grundy does. Very easy to see how Grundy slots into our game plan.

Grundy has nowhere near the leap of Jackson - nor does he have the same ability or leg speed

I'd say he is a better ruck in most situations other than centre bounces an area where his lack of leaping capacity is a disadvantage

Grundy has Jackson covered in most statistical areas other than goals per game (Jackson has probably spent more time in F50) and disposal efficiency (I think most people underestimate how skilled he is by both hand and foot)

I have no idea how this will pan out over the next 2 to 3 years but my preference would have been to keep LJ but that was obviously not possible

5 minutes ago, binman said:

Strawbs was a bloody good ruck man.

Very underrated - perhaps because he looked a little ungainly.

But in many ways he was ahead of his time - like Maxy, very tall but super athletic.

And smart - he had the knack of all really good footballers - he got to the right spots 

And a very very good, contested mark - loved his aggression 

 
14 hours ago, Sigil said:

Call me a silly bugger, but....

 

I'm more interested in Gawn going back more like 2021 and Grundy being the more aggressive ruckman kicking to (hopefully) JVR, BBB and TMac.

 

 

Ok, silly bugger....but i actually think there is something to this. 

Seems to me rucks expend a lot of energy just getting to contests. If you have specialist back and forward rucks handing off the opposition ruck there is a physical advantage. This year Max looked tired at times and Jacksons positioning was not great. Whilst I think Jackson is very athletic his weakness is his contest work.

Max in 2021 looked very effective down back and Grundy has always looked a mobile ruck a la Jackson (but with much better ruck skills) and has been dangerous in the front half. With both on the field pressing up for kick ins May might look right!

 

1 minute ago, binman said:

I might have missed it, but what is the Pies rationale for trading Grundy?

Do the pies think he doesn't suit how they want to play or is it as simple as wanting to get his salary off the books?

Both.

McStay will help their forward line a lot. A player who stands under high balls and is a very good pressure player for his size is super valuable. 

Grundy has upside when he’s rolling but if he’s not at his best he’s a frustrating player to coach. Likes chasing kicks rather than sticking to his role. A midfielder in the ruck is all well and good until he’s not doing the long down the line contest because he wants a chest mark 

His best football is better than Darcy Cameron’s but his from since 2020 is more on par. Ideally you’d keep both for the next couple of years but not when he could easily be dead weight at 900+ for the last 3 and McStay’s available instead.


58 minutes ago, Skuit said:

Grundy rucks around the ground. Max stays a kick behind the play. Takes the opportunity to float forward if presented. Try manning up on that. 

Sounds good. One thing I really like is that most clubs play a non ruckman in the position for 20+ minutes a game like silvagni at Carlton for example. Those tigers will have to go up against either Grundy or Max. !!

 

 

GRUNDY’S MANAGER BREAKS SILENCE ON TRADE

Brodie Grundy’s manager has admitted the star big man saw the writing on the wall of his exit from Collingwood with several other ruckmen on the list on cheaper deals.

Grundy on Tuesday was traded from the Magpies to the Demons in exchange for Pick 27 despite having five years to run on a lucrative $7 million, seven-year contract signed at the end of 2019, with Collingwood still contributing towards the big-money deal.

After the trade Grundy in a heartfelt statement said he’d always hoped to be a Magpie for life, but conceded it was “time to dream a different dream” at Melbourne.

But the 28-year old’s manager Robbie D’Orazio suggested Magpies footy boss Graham Wright was still moulding the list and recalibrating the salary cap under his leadership, having only stepped into the role at the start of 2021.

“To Graham’s credit he came into a new regime two years ago. I like when list managers come in and don’t suddenly go through a cleanout straight away in what they’ve taken on,” D’Orazio said on AFL Trade Radio.

“We all know (Grundy’s) long-term deal and the footy he missed this year – that played a big part – they won a lot of games without him.

“In the end he (Wright) had three ruckmen on (Collingwood’s) list and they were paying (Grundy) a lot of money ... and the one who probably helped their salary cap the most (if they left) was Grundy.

“He’s really excited to get to the Melbourne footy club. While I said yesterday he wasn’t jumping for joy when the trade went through – there was a bit of sadness in there – he wakes up this morning a Melbourne footy player and he’s excited to get to work.”

D’Orazio added that Grundy taking a pay cut to stay at Collingwood was “never discussed.”

“List managers would like all players to take pay cuts if they went through their books at the end of each year because something might became available,” he said.

Have I missed discussion of his injury/ies (by his own statement in August, he was in the last week or so before return from a PCL then sustained 'a fracture in my ankle'), or the Club's view of, and due diligence about, these, or any learned 'Land opinions on same?


15 minutes ago, Timothy Reddan-A'Blew said:

Have I missed discussion of his injury/ies (by his own statement in August, he was in the last week or so before return from a PCL then sustained 'a fracture in my ankle'), or the Club's view of, and due diligence about, these, or any learned 'Land opinions on same?

I have not seen a further update and I hope he was given a full medical by the Demons (or preferably from the Richmond Doctor).

1 hour ago, Skuit said:

Grundy rucks around the ground. Max stays a kick behind the play. Takes the opportunity to float forward if presented. Try manning up on that. 

Can we score with 5 on 6 in our forward line?

Geelong do this but Blicavs can play as a genuine mid which allows them 6 forwards. Plus they expertly navigate around spare defenders to kick to Hawkins deep.

Maybe we have 2 rucks in the midfield at the same time with Petracca swapping forward with Grundy after clearances. 

But Harmes, Sparrow, ANB and Spargo aren’t going anywhere in that situation because we are going to need every bit of mid and half forward run and pressure as possible. 

I don’t think we’ll get too clever with 2 rucks on ball or behind the ball unless it’s inside 60. We’ll be happy to have Gawn forward to increase our speed of ball movement rather than waiting for him to make position. 

Late in games if we’re trying to ice contests then Gawn will drop back but otherwise we’ll start one of the rucks forward. 

1 minute ago, DeeSpencer said:

Can we score with 5 on 6 in our forward line?

Geelong do this but Blicavs can play as a genuine mid which allows them 6 forwards. Plus they expertly navigate around spare defenders to kick to Hawkins deep.

Maybe we have 2 rucks in the midfield at the same time with Petracca swapping forward with Grundy after clearances. 

But Harmes, Sparrow, ANB and Spargo aren’t going anywhere in that situation because we are going to need every bit of mid and half forward run and pressure as possible. 

I don’t think we’ll get too clever with 2 rucks on ball or behind the ball unless it’s inside 60. We’ll be happy to have Gawn forward to increase our speed of ball movement rather than waiting for him to make position. 

Late in games if we’re trying to ice contests then Gawn will drop back but otherwise we’ll start one of the rucks forward. 

Again, I agree. Have fun. 

Not too fussed about Grundy not doing cartwheels over his trade. He clearly wanted to be at Collingwood for life and that is still sinking in. Give it a few weeks and he'll be falling in love with the MFC I'm sure. 

Reg will flourish at Melbourne. 
Love this pickup.!

Bring on 2023.

Edited by PaulRB


10 minutes ago, layzie said:

Not too fussed about Grundy not doing cartwheels over his trade. He clearly wanted to be at Collingwood for life and that is still sinking in. Give it a few weeks and he'll be falling in love with the MFC I'm sure. 

On one hand it will be nice to have a player who’s actually bitter at Collingwood 

On the other our most talented player already thinks he plays for Collingwood so at least Grundy won’t be alone 

1 hour ago, binman said:

Strawbs was a bloody good ruck man.

Very underrated - perhaps because he looked a little ungainly.

But in many ways he was ahead of his time - like Maxy, very tall but super athletic.

And smart - he had the knack of all really good footballers - he got to the right spots 

I remember Strawbs sitting on  photographers chair hiding for a kick out one day, sprinted onto the ground and was 25 metres from anyone. He also used to hide behind umpires for kick outs. Bloody good player, I think better than Stynes,  detached retina (I think) ruined his career. Hard as nails and happy to swing his big arms around.

Edited by ManDee
Typo

Hope he divulges some hot tips on how to beat those [censored]

Edited by John Crow Batty

16 hours ago, No10 said:

Two interesting quotes from the HS article:

At Melbourne, Grundy will take the lion’s share of the ruck duties, meaning six-time All-Australian Max Gawn will play more minutes in a key forward role next year.

 

Melbourne believes its premiership window is still wide open despite the loss of Luke Jackson as it cashed in on his departure despite still haggling on a deal for replacement ruckman Brodie Grundy.

The Demons believe Grundy will be an upgrade on Jackson in the short-term future despite the departing premiership player’s undoubted potential and cherished place in the club’s premiership history.

Hope we sort out Max's kicking

2 hours ago, binman said:

I might have missed it, but what is the Pies rationale for trading Grundy?

Do the pies think he doesn't suit how they want to play or is it as simple as wanting to get his salary off the books?

 Dermott Bereton on Fox's AFL trade day succinctly summed up (in about 55 minutes) that McCrae doesn't put a high premium on good ruckman as did his coach Leigh Matthews, as did Leigh's coach Alan Jeans.


15 minutes ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

 Dermott Bereton on Fox's AFL trade day succinctly summed up (in about 55 minutes) that McCrae doesn't put a high premium on good ruckman as did his coach Leigh Matthews, as did Leigh's coach Alan Jeans.

If Grundy played against Sydney in the PF the Pies were into the GF. 

2 hours ago, ElDiablo14 said:

Do we know how much are we paying him?

I've heard that Collingwood is not paying much, on the other hand it looks like Grundy himself took a pay cut?

At the start of the Quest the figures being mentioned and never denied was MFC $600k, Pies $300k over 5 Years - we pay $3m, Pies pay $1.5m. Pies needed to offload the money so they could fit DeGoeys salary into the cap. There has been a bit of too-ing and fro-ing happening on DL but think the original scenario would be closest to the pin.!!!

 

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