AFL
3 months ago
“He has to destroy him”: Why Grand Final must become Grundy's legacy game
By SEN
All the talk this week has been about Brisbane’s loss of Oscar McInerney and the job Darcy Fort will need to do as his replacement.
But both David King and Kane Cornes believe the pressure is on his opponent Brodie Grundy, agreeing that the Sydney star must dominate Fort in the ruck and around the ground.
Grundy has had an excellent debut season at the Swans, proving he remains one of the game’s elite ruckmen following a turbulent few years at Melbourne and Collingwood.
Speaking on SEN Breakfast, Cornes and King gave their thoughts on the match-up.
Cornes: “What about the legacy of Brodie Grundy coming up against a ruckman who hasn’t played for a long time?”
King: “He has to destroy him.”
Cornes: “Has to destroy him.”
King: “I don’t want a 60-40 game. He needs to destroy him. We like what Darcy Fort has be able to do. He’s been a warrior. He’s been a guy Chris Fagan has even gone to as the sub. He hasn’t played since Round 7.”
Cornes: “And he’s coming straight in for a Grand Final.”
King: “It’s on a tee for Grundy to rip this sense and a domination not in terms of hit-outs, but in terms of hit-outs that set their big three on a path to exit stoppage pure.”
Cornes: “And also around the grounds stuff is what I’m looking at as well. If you go back to Round 7, these are the numbers he can produce. He had 24 touches, we know he can do that, he had 11 tackles against Gold Coast in Round 7. 30 hit-outs in that game. This is the stuff he was doing at Collingwood. That’s the influence he can have. 15 contested possessions, grab it out of the ruck and force it forward.”
King: “I want goals. I want him getting forward. He can run Fort into the ground.”
Cornes: “For Brodie Grundy’s legacy, I think it’s a really important game for him tomorrow and we’d all be thrilled for him if that’s the case given the direction his career has taken unexpectedly. What an opportunity for him.”
