Brodie Grundy has defended his provocative goal celebration that backfired in the Demons’ Friday night loss to the Power.
AFL: North Melbourne legend David King was disappointed the Melbourne Demons didn’t fly the flag for an under-fire Max Gawn against Port Adelaide.
The Melbourne ruckman celebrated to the home crowd by putting a finger to his lips after he goaled to take his side to a game-high 17-point lead late in the third term at the Adelaide Oval, but the move backfired when riled-up Port supporters cheered their side home to a stirring four-point win.
Grundy says he will continue to bring his personality onto the field and was not fussed by the blowback from the home fans in his native South Australia.
“That’s just footy, you live and die by the sword. I was actually talking to some family before the game, they were like ‘what will you do if you kick a goal’ and I said I might pull the ‘shush’ out,” he said.
Brodie Grundy says he is not losing any sleep over his goal celebration towards Port Adelaide fans. Picture: James Elsby / Getty Images
“That’s what you get when you try and show personality, and to answer your question, I don’t regret it.”
Grundy was influential as a ruckman and forward as the Demons worked their way back into the game against Port, but ruck partner Max Gawn was shut down by heavy physical attention from the Power and was unable to register a mark.
He said he felt frustrated for the Melbourne captain following the treatment but did not agree with David King’s comments on Fox Footy that Gawn had been disrespected by his teammates’ handling of it.
“(King) hasn’t been inside the four walls,” Grundy said.
“It can be a little bit frustrating, and we spoke about that at halftime, how we can support Max … we want to be a side that is really galvanised.
Port Adelaide players targeted Max Gawn heavily to deny him opportunities to mark the ball. Picture: Sarah Reed / Getty Images
“If anything he rises to the occasion … those comments are interesting comments, even as an outsider, watching Melbourne before I came to the club, Max has always been someone that has attracted a lot of attention off the ball.”
Grundy said his body was feeling “really, really good” as a result of partnering with Gawn and spending more time on the bench and as a forward.
He has booted six goals in his last four games playing in tandem with the Dees skipper and praised head of development Mark Williams for helping with his goalkicking.
“To be able come in here and hit the scoreboard … when I have my opportunities forward I really feel confident in my goalkicking, my preparation,” Grundy said.
“I think it’s a testament to the high performance standard that we have here. That’s led by Mark Williams, who’s leading the charge in terms of our goalkicking and our footwork and our skills.”
Grundy said he took orders from Bayley Fritsch when playing forward and also appreciated the strong on-field communication from 20-year-old forward Jacob van Rooyen.
“(Van Rooyen) is someone that I’ve been super impressed with … directing me, not being shy to tell me where to go or clear out of the space,” he said.