Brodie Grundy has settled into life in Sydney as the undisputed number one ruck for the Swans, in a league where most teams are moving towards a tandem ruck situation to exploit the 23rd man on the bench. As such, he is still a highly valuable fantasy asset even as his career winds down. 2026 is shaping up as his best statistical season yet at the age of 32, albeit boosted by the last month where he has faced some of the lesser opponents. Today he meets Max Gawn once again, two colossi battling on the same high level. Can he post another big fantasy ton?
Brodie Grundy has settled into life in Sydney as the undisputed number one ruck for the Swans, in a league where most teams are moving towards a tandem ruck situation to exploit the 23rd man on the bench. As such, he is still a highly valuable fantasy asset even as his career winds down. 2026 is shaping up as his best statistical season yet at the age of 32, albeit boosted by the last month where he has faced some of the lesser opponents. Today he meets Max Gawn once again, two colossi battling on the same high level. Can he post another big fantasy ton?
Brodie Grundy has been the unheralded part of the Sydney midfield's rise to dominance in 2024, coming across from a cursed stint at Melbourne to lead the Swans all the way to a Grand Final. His personal contribution has been anonymous to the point of surreptitious, with the stats showing he was well beaten by Jordan Swift last week and merely broke even with B-grader Kieren Briggs in the qualifying final. That is a darn sight better than what John Longmire was getting out of his ruck division before Grundy arrived, nonetheless, and he shapes as a matchwinner today.
Brodie Grundy is part of the long-running double act known as Grawndy, the one-two punch in tandem with Max Gawn that has anchored thousands of successful fantasy teams in recent seasons. Some have lost faith after one middling game and are looking to trade him out to use the cash elsewhere, but historically such decisions have been futile as he is almost locked in to finish in the top two rucks for the year. Injury to Mason Cox this week should cement his status as one of the best accumulating rucks in the league. Beware the round 2 reversion!
We're all roadies for Brodie
Move aside, Dean Cox and Gary Dempsey! Brodie Grundy reaffirmed with a colossal 2019 that he's the league's premier ruckman, arguably the best fantasy ruck in VFL/AFL history. 43 hit outs per match ranked him second behind Jarrod Witts but it was his herculean follow-up work that set him apart. Formidable consistency with a disposal rate over 20 propelled Grundy to top the league fantasy averages, and rewarded any draft league coach who invested the number one pick in him. Off-season speculation dragged on into the new year about Grundy signing an enormous seven-year contract, which he finally did. We are long since past worrying about the Mason Cox effect, even in a time where ruck tandems are more in vogue. Dean Cox used to be the benchmark for fantasy rucks, but he managed three seasons averaging more than a ton and Grundy has now done it four times in a row. He would be first picked in any team, real or fantasy, and should go #1 in yours.
Grundy scores hunjies
In 2018 we witnessed Brodie Grundy, together with Max Gawn, utterly dominate the league’s ruck division. With a jump of 13.8 points per game, Grundy pumped out his best statistical year to date, thanks to his ability to find his own football and follow up his ruckwork. His 20.2 disposal average (12.2 contested) was the best of any AFL big man. When combined with 40 hit outs a game it’s easy to see how Grundy became fantasy royalty. This season looms as an opportunity for Grundy to stake his claim as the league’s genuine premier ruckman. The ongoing development of Mason Cox is noteworthy and may dampen Grundy’s stats slightly if the two share more ruck minutes. Nevertheless, this contested beast is a fantasy matchwinner in the prime of his career and should be taken in the first round without hesitation.
Solemn news on Grundy
It was all set up for Brodie Grundy to go past Max Gawn and take the mantle as the #1 ruck in the AFL, a title that since Dean Cox seems to be taken by someone new every year. Patrick Ryder ended up earning the All-Australian jumper but Grundy's 2017 was worthy as well, apart from an August suspension that was very poorly timed for his owners. Grundy's fantasy average dropped from 116 to 88 with Mason Cox in the side in 2017. Post-season word from the club is that the Pies are planning to play Cox in the senior side a lot more in 2018, as evidently the experiment of throwing Darcy Moore in as occasional support didn't work. Ruck committees suck for fantasy, as it tends to turn potential fantasy studs into meek lambs. If it look like this structure is going to stick through preseason, Grundy's draft value will plummet through middle rounds.
