Star Swan plays down SCG fears, preparing for Freo's dual ruck threat

Brodie Grundy and Tim English compete in the ruck during the R16 match between Sydney and Western Bulldogs at Sydney Cricket Ground on June 27, 2025. Picture: Getty Images/AFL Photos

BRODIE Grundy has long been regarded as one of the deepest thinkers in the game and the Swan attributes his stunning form rise this season with an enhanced mental approach to his football.

The issue of the poor SCG surface continues to roll on amid Sydney's horrible spate of rain and storms this week and while Grundy conceded it was far from ideal in Friday night's loss to the Western Bulldogs, he backed in all parties to make sure the venue is up to standard for Sunday's showdown with Fremantle.

It's not an issue that troubled the 31-year-old too much though as he played through the patchy area of the ground with aplomb in a superb individual performance in line with his output over the last six weeks.

His 23 disposals, 43 hitouts, eight clearances and 11 score involvements was a reminder of the two-time All-Australian's very best form and if it's a standard he can maintain throughout the rest of the season, talk of a third blazer will only intensify.

"That mental preparation has been a really solid part of my game this year," Grundy said.

"It's probably been a focus on my process. It may sound quite generalised but it's been an acknowledgment of what makes me the player I am and continuing to reinforce that and put an emphasis on that during the week and in games.

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"I think I've been playing a consistent brand of footy. Whether I've reached the heights of previous years that's questionable. What I am measuring my output on is really strong consistency and I think I've managed that over the last five or six weeks."

The Swans star will face the most unique ruck threat of all in the AFL at the moment on Sunday in Dockers big men Luke Jackson and Sean Darcy.

With Jackson in career-best touch, he's been deployed in the midfield alongside Darcy at times which left Grundy jokingly lamenting what could have been for him at Melbourne after his failed planned partnership with Max Gawn.

"I wish I was going onball when I was at Melbourne with ‘Gawny', that would have been nice," he said.

Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson during Fremantle's win over St Kilda in round 16, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

"They make it work exceptionally well for their side. Luke Jackson's a special player that can play pretty much anywhere and Darcy's an elite ruckman so the proof is in the pudding."

The onball development at the Dockers is something Grundy has clearly been observing closely and while he comes across as someone who is simply fixated on his own development, he acknowledges that he is a keen observer of ruck trends and the status of others across the AFL.

"I'm a very competitive person so it'd be silly if you've been in the competition as long as I have and you're not looking at what other players are doing. Looking at your match-up week by week and trying to exploit that or match it," he said.

Along with crediting the ‘trust and autonomy' to shape the ruck role as he sees fit by coach Dean Cox, the return of fellow two-time All-Australian Errol Gulden from a 15-week injury has also assisted Grundy's ability to influence games from the middle.

"Elite preparation, whether that's mental, physical, emotional – Errol taps into all parts of those domains of high performance, so I was not surprised that he's returned in the condition that he has," he said.

Errol Gulden marks during the R16 match between Sydney and Western Bulldogs at Sydney Cricket Ground on June 27, 2025. Picture: Getty Images/AFL Photos

Along with forward Joel Amartey, who is pushing for a return from a hamstring injury, Gulden's place in the team alongside Tom Papley has given the Swans renewed belief for the second half of the season but even Grundy concedes getting back into the finals race is a tough task.

"We've got to leave no stone unturned for the rest of the season," he said.

"There's a reality to where we sit right now and we've got to be frank about that. Having said that there's tremendous opportunity for us and we've got a lot of belief internally about what our best football looks like.

"It's about being ultra consistent and we're going to need to do that in the back half of the year."

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That starts with Sunday's clash with Fremantle, a team that beat the Swans by three points at the SCG last season.

Grundy is confident they'll be out to make amends at the same venue this week despite the controversy around the sub-standard surface on half of the ground.

"Was it ideal on Friday night? No. But I'm looking forward to playing there this week.," he said.

"As a player I've got full faith in the club and the SCG Trust, the AFL. They're working really collaboratively to make sure it's cherry ripe.

"It wasn't ideal but as a player I'm not really thinking about that, I'm thinking about the contest at hand. There were a few moments when players were slipping over but that's going to happen when it's dewy."

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