‘Having no influence’: Great puts blowtorch on Swans recruit Grundy ahead of finals
‘That is AWFUL… what are you doing?’ | 01:58
Fox Footy from Fox Sports
An AFL great has put the blowtorch on Brodie Grundy to “deliver more” as Sydney’s “boom recruit” ahead of the ladder leaders’ finals campaign.
Grundy’s decline in form has in many ways coincided with Sydney’s drop off despite John Longmire’s team bouncing back with a come-from-behind win over Collingwood last week to consolidate top spot.
Widely regarded as the recruit of 2024 in the first half of the season and in contention for the All-Australian ruck spot, Grundy has faded over the last six weeks.
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Speaking on Fox Footy’s The First Crack, dual premiership Kangaroo David King called for Grundy to “get back to meaningful, impactful AFL footy,” arguing he’s currently “having no influence as a ruckman and no influence around the ground.”
King also said it’s on Sydney to “demand more” of Grundy, naming several key areas the 30-year old is struggling in.
“His ball use is awful – over the last six weeks he’s rated 508th from damage in ball use – there would be only 600 players to play the game in that period of time,” King said.
“He’s taken three intercept marks in six weeks and been involved in five scores the last month – they are awful numbers for your big signing – you need to deliver more than this.
“To put the three intercept marks into context, guys like Darcy Cameron and Tim English have had 15. He’s had three, so what are you doing?
(Grundy’s) tapwork also isn’t where it should be – he’s ranked 15th over the last six weeks in hit-outs to advantage. If you do that by percentage, it’s even worse – one in every four and a half are going to a teammate.”
King argued that if Grundy can’t correct things, it will “ruin Sydney aground” despite the dominance of the rest of the Swans’ superstar midfield including Chad Warner, who’ll miss Friday night’s clash against Essendon with a calf issue, Isaac Heeney and Errol Gulden.
“If the big bloke doesn’t stand up, they’re in real trouble. He was recruited for this time of the year,” King added.
“It’s on him to drag himself out of this mire and get going. It’s mid August, it’s time to get rolling, couple of weeks from a finals series. Be the guy they went after and invested heavily in during the off-season.
“Because boy they need him.”
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The Swans landed the dual All-Australian from Melbourne in a swap for Pick 46 and a future second rounder to help improve their clearance game.
But over the last month Sydney has been beaten in clearances in three out of four games – -10 (Brisbane), -12 (Bulldogs), -10 (Port Adelaide) and +3 (Collingwood).
St Kilda legend Leigh Montagna pondered whether the ex-Demons and Magpies ruckman needed to get back to basics.
“The ball use has been an issue all year. Does he need to simplify his game?,” Montagna posed on The First Crack.
“Stick to his role, hit it to the gun midfielders, get down the line and try and intercept and support the talls. Then keep out of the way with the rest.
“I know towards the end of his time at Collingwood, they were getting frustrated with him grabbing it out of the ruck and indiscriminately kicking and handballing, it really got to them.”
King went so far to say that Sydney would be considering bringing in an alternative ruck option if it had a true backup.
“He’s kicked two goals for the year, like what are you actually doing? What is your function in this team right now?,” King added of Grundy.
“I’ll be honest with you, you could look at other options for this function. If they had another challenging ruckman, would they look at it?
“They don’t, that’s exactly why I’m saying it’s Brodie’s time to stand up. Because those are the numbers of a player barely surviving on your list, let alone your big boom off-season recruit.”