Former Melbourne captain Garry Lyon has questioned the club’s decision to recruit Brodie Grundy, fearing it has turned Max Gawn from a matchwinner into a “role player”.
Grundy was one of the most high-profile acquisitions in last year’s trade period, moving from Collingwood to the Demons despite having five years to run on a lucrative seven-year contract.
His arrival at Melbourne was made all the more fascinating given Gawn’s credentials as the best ruckman in the competition, raising questions over how the pair would work together.
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Doubts over their synergy, Lyon said, still remained after 15 rounds of the 2023 season, with the side’s most recent outing a 15-point loss to Geelong.
“I’m still worried about Gawn and Grundy and I’m not quite sure whether they’ve got it right,” Lyon told Fox Footy’s On The Couch.
“I know they’ve got most of their recruiting right in recent times, so you have faith, but my main concern is I’m in danger of seeing Max Gawn reduced to a role player.
“I love Max’s selflessness in all of this. He’s gone ‘Yes, I want Brodie and I want to share’, but this is the dominant ruckman … He’s a six-time All-Australian. In the losses we’ve seen in recent times to Port Adelaide and Geelong, he took a total of one intercept mark.”
Gawn’s intercepting ability has plateaued in the side’s losses this season, while Grundy’s ability to hit the scoreboard has also been lacking, with the 29-year-old a more recognised ruck option than forward 50 target.
Grundy has spent a total of 279 minutes in the forward line and has been targeted just eight times.
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Lyon said the Dees’ conundrum could be likened to that of the Australian cricket team.
“They had (Steve) Smith as the best player in the world, that’s the ‘Gawn’. They had (Marnus) Labuschagne, who’s the best up and comer, that’s (Luke) Jackson,” he said.
“Jackson’s gone, so lets just say Labuschagne is gone, the response is like saying ‘Lets bat Smith at five and bring (David) Warner in and bat him at six.’
“All of a sudden what made Australia great with Steven Smith at four, they’ve gone away from it.”
Lyon said Gawn remained Melbourne’s “most important player” and had “suffered” as a result of sacrificing some of his own strengths to try integrate Grundy into the side.
“I want him to be the dominant ruckman again and drive Melbourne into a finals campaign.
“What’s that mean for Brodie? He’s going to have to try and prove he can fit himself in.”