Star Melbourne recruit Brodie Grundy will reportedly be omitted for his side’s blockbuster top-four clash with Brisbane at the MCG on Friday night.
According to SEN’s Tom Morris, Grundy has been told he’ll be left out of the team – although it’s unclear if the 29-year old will be listed as ‘omitted,’ ‘rested’ or ‘managed’ – as the Demons experiment with Max Gawn rucking solo for the first time in 2023 with Jacob Van rooyen serving as his backup.
It comes after Channel 7’s Mitch Cleary first reported there was a “big watch” on Grundy’s availability, claiming the ruckman was considered “less than a 50-50 chance” of facing the Lions following scrutiny towards he and Gawn after the duo were beaten by St Kilda’s Rowan Marshall in last week’s clash.
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Melbourne assistant Troy Chaplin on Thursday morning suggested Grundy’s position in the team was in doubt.
“He’s coming off two-six day breaks,” Chaplin said to RSN radio.
“Whether we want to go down that path, but he’s ready to go. He trained the other day with no problems at all.
“It’s just a call we have to make as a coaching group.”
Foxfooty.com.au has contacted Melbourne for comment.
The Gawn-Grundy combination hasn’t functioned as effectively as Melbourne would’ve hoped – and how the footy world anticipated over the off-season – after the latter’s high-profile trade from Collingwood last year in exchange for Pick 27 despite Grundy having five years remaining on a lucrative contract.
Gawn and Grundy have combined for 17 goals in 2023 amid Melbourne’s forward half woes, with Simon Goodwin’s side having failed to score over 80 points since Round 9 as its spot in the top four has come under threat.
Demons legend Garry Lyon last month questioned the club’s decision to recruit Grundy amid fears it’d turned Gawn from a matchwinner into a “role player”.
“I’m still worried about Gawn and Grundy and I’m not quite sure whether they’ve got it right,” Lyon told Fox Footy’s On The Couch in late June.
“I know they’ve got most of their recruiting right in recent times, so you have faith, but my main concern is I’m in danger of seeing Max Gawn reduced to a role player.
“I love Max’s selflessness in all of this. He’s gone ‘Yes, I want Brodie and I want to share’, but this is the dominant ruckman … He’s a six-time All-Australian. In the losses we’ve seen in recent times to Port Adelaide and Geelong, he took a total of one intercept mark.”
Grundy has played 193 AFL games since making his debut in 2013, claiming two best and fairests and two All-Australian blazers during his time with the Magpies.
