Nathan Buckley downplays injury concerns over 'cherry ripe' Brodie Grundy after curious benching
Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley has downplayed concerns that star ruckman Brodie Grundy is carrying an injury after his side's thrilling win over the West Coast Eagles.
Grundy was curiously benched during key moments in the second half of the Magpies' 12. 4. (76) to 11. 9. (75) win at Optus Stadium, sparking concerns he was injured.
The two-time All-Australian was benched to start the second half as well as in the final centre bounce of the match, with Darcy Cameron preferred instead.
To Grundy's credit, he responded in sensational fashion in the second half, leading all players with eight contested possessions, despite playing just 52 percent game time.
Brodie Grundy struggled in the first half of his match-up against Eagles All-Australian Nic Naitanui Getty
Following the match, Buckley opened up on the decision, indicating that West Coast ruckman Nick Naitanui's dominance in the first half caused him to double-team the Eagles star in the middle.
"We wanted Darcy and Brodie to share the load," he said after the match.
"We wanted to keep Mason forward as much as possible and we also thought that Nic was going to be a handful, and he proved to be.
"We thought that Darcy Cameron, his contest in the ruck was good. He's a natural ruckman and in infield play he was able to get down the line and help us aerially.
"We thought the balance was right to share the load between those two boys and keep the heat on a player who is an All-Australian ruckman this year for a reason."
Buckley said Grundy was more than happy to play the team role in order to get the win over the Eagles Getty
Buckley declared that Grundy was "fully fit" and "cherry ripe to attack next week", adding that the star man was more than happy to step back behind Cameron.
"Brodie is a team man. He's prepared to do whatever it takes for the team to come together and perform," he said.
"He's always had high expectations of himself and elite performers will often set high bars for themselves and sometimes that can be debilitating, but for Brodie he just thrives on it.
"Whatever has happened to this point is irrelevant. These are the opportunities that the great players get up for and Brodes is more than ready to contribute to his capacity and as we ask to be really strong in a team effort."
