Brody Grundy
DOB: 15/4/94 Ht: 202 Wt: 100
Quite simply Grundy is the best and most complete junior ruckman that I have seen. In Natanui you could see the sublime talent but it was not there yet. With Grundy it is all on show and if GWS overlook him they have rocks in their heads. This is all the more impressive because he is a late comer to the game only crossing over from basketball as a 16 year old.
Grundy was impressive last year as a bottom aged player albeit as a bit of a beanpole. That has changed a great deal in the last twelve months. He has stacked on the weight and is a powerful, mature athlete now. He will continue to develop physically but he does not need to put on nearly as much weight as most young ruck prospects. He already has a powerful lower half which he uses to great effect during games. Unlike a lot of late basketball converts Grundy seems to thrive on the physical aspects of the game and he loves getting in there and throwing his weight around. In basketball terms he is more of a Howard style player rather than a Durant type. In AFL terms I expect him to become a Mumford style power ruck.
At junior level, Grundy was simply too big and too powerful for those he came up against this year. It was a poor year for ruck prospects and the difference between he and his closest competition was vast. Last year though as a skinny 17 year old he still did very well in the ruck contest against stronger opposition. He controls his taps very well and has excellent knowledge of where his mids are around him. He had a series of moves with the SA mids and executed many of them very well. He seemed to have a great understanding with Kennedy who benefited a great deal from the dominance Grundy was able to exert in the ruck. He is a little unusual with a two armed jumping style but it is effective and he gets good height on his jumps. He is a right handed tapper but is also a fan of the two hander which he brings out a few times each game.
In addition to being excellent in the ruck itself, Grundy is also very dangerous up forward and he is a regular multiple goal kicker. He uses his strength and height to great effect and if he weren’t going to be a ruck he could be a nice FF prospect. He moves well around the forward 50 and when he establishes position he is immovable by most KPDs. Grundy recovers quickly in contested situations and is surprisingly adept with the ball on the deck and has pretty clean and quick hands for such a big guy. He is a reasonably reliable shot for goal and can finish the opportunities he is given. There is a more than reasonable chance that Grundy could become a throwback to the old style goal-kicking ruckman like Paul Salmon kicking 30 or more goals a year. He is not particularly quick on an extended lead but on short leads he is hard to contain especially when he gets a good push off.
Contested marking is a feature of Grundy’s game no matter where he is on the field. He is adept at coming up with a stretch mark up forward, drifting in from the side through the middle of the park and dropping back into the hole in front of the leading forward down back. His hands are very soft and he absorbs contact without letting it affect his marking ability. He is a good judge of the ball in the air and takes it at a point where few non-rucks can reach. He tested very well in the running leap at the Combine and this combined with his height allows him to get up above virtually anyone.
Around the ground, Grundy is improving and would be pretty good for and under 18. His endurance is solid and he gets to contests and where he is needed. He does link up pretty well and his marking allows him to be a bail out option if needed. Skills wise he is a lot better than you expect of someone with a big with as little experience as he has. He usually plays within himself with his kicks going short to medium distance most often and at this range he tends not to overhit the ball and has nice feel on the kicks. When he goes for distance his technique changes a fair bit with him having a higher, two handed ball drop and leaning back when he punches it. More often than not though, when he goes for it it gets where he wants it to go so it’s hard to complain.
Apparently Grundy is not the brightest star in the night sky but that has not prevented many from enjoying long AFL careers (and in the media for that matter). He does seem coachable though and his development over the last couple of years is a testament to that. It looks like he listens to what his coaches want from him and then works hard to achieve that. He has quickly closed holes in his game and if he continues to do that he will be a multiple AA before the end of his career.