Traded star Grundy reveals ‘pretty sobering’ moment, thoughts on new AFL home

Brodie Grundy has admitted it was “pretty sobering” to be dropped to the VFL in his sole season for Melbourne.

Grundy landed at a third AFL club in three years when he was traded to Sydney following just one campaign for the Dees.

He and Melbourne captain Max Gawn were touted as a dynamic one-two punch, but ultimately neither could offer much when playing predominantly forward, with Grundy now a Swan.

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“Playing VFL, it’s pretty sobering when you get dropped,” Grundy told Triple M’s The Rush Hour.

“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.

“For me, getting towards the end of my career, I want to be able to maximise my time playing AFL footy.”

Grundy will be Sydney’s number one ruck option, with Tom Hickey now retired and Peter Ladhams only performing in spurts.

Despite a second consecutive year of becoming superfluous in a senior side, Grundy said he approached it with the right mindset.

“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 (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.”

While Melbourne spruiked the acquisition of Grundy last year, there were significant doubts externally over how the pair would function in tandem.

“Max is a great player,” Grundy reflected.

“And I can get that, I sort of made myself redundant there.

“The pitch was great, and I really wanted to see that through. Things can change, you’ve got to be agile in these times, you can’t stay static.

“It was in the best interest of both parties again (to move), hopefully, it’s fruitful up in Sydney.”

Grundy’s contract – which he initially signed with Collingwood and of which the Pies are still paying a portion – runs until the end of 2027.