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, and he’s been praised for his “classy” trade response by Kane Cornes.
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“My desire to remain at Collingwood did not change this year,” he posted on social media.
The 28-year-old conceded it was “time to dream a different dream” at Melbourne for 2023 and beyond.
Grundy’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.
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“To Graham’s credit he came into a new regime two years ago. I like when list managers come in and don’t suddenly back mouth or 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 (Wright) had four 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 Brodie 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 really 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.
