Sydney recruit Brodie Grundy has spoken about his much-publicised exit from Melbourne for the first time.
Grundy was traded to the Swans last month, making it the second time in a year he has changed AFL clubs.
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He was shipped by Collingwood at the end of 2022 to relieve salary cap pressure and the Demons brought him in to form what looked like a formidable ruck partnership with Max Gawn.
But the experiment failed spectacularly and Grundy was dumped to the VFL after Round 17 before being overlooked during the Demons’ failed finals campaign.
The 29-year-old dual All-Australian admitted he struggled when he was dropped from the AFL side.
Brodie Grundy Credit: Getty Images
“Playing VFL, it’s pretty sobering when you get dropped,” Grundy told Triple M.
“A big part of what we do is our jobs, we got a lot of satisfaction out of that. When that isn’t where we want to be, it’s hard to reconcile.
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“For me, getting towards the end of my career, I want to be able to maximise my time playing AFL footy.”
Grundy said he did everything he could to maintain his professionalism at the Demons despite realising his chances of featuring in the finals were slim.
“I’ve tried to be as professional as I can be. At the time I was employed by the Melbourne Football Club to come in, play, challenge Max (Gawn) at training and play on Steven May and Jake Lever in the forward line,” he said.
“I wanted to give it a go and see if I could play finals, come in and kick some goals. But it wasn’t to be.
“We had a mutual conversation towards the end … I spoke to Goody (coach Simon Goodwin), and we were having conversations all the way through.
“Hand on heart, I don’t have a bad word to say about Melbourne. The people there are fantastic. For what it’s worth, I enjoyed my time there.
“My two hours on the weekend just wasn’t where I wanted to be. I’m here to play AFL footy, that’s what led me to Sydney and I’m looking forward to making it there.”
Grundy, who has played 194 AFL games, is contracted until the end of the 2027 season with the Magpies committed to still paying a portion of that deal.
He will reunite with former Magpie Taylor Adams at the Swans and will have no competition for the No.1 ruck spot at following Tom Hickey’s retirement this year.
And he could face one of his former clubs early next year with a Collingwood-Sydney clash tipped for week two in 2024.
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