Collingwood legend Nathan Buckley believes Dan McStay is extra useful to the membership than Brodie Grundy and that he doesn’t suppose the ruck is a place price investing a considerable amount of wage cap in.
The Magpies this low season dealt Grundy to the Demons in trade for Pick 27 regardless of the twin All-Australian having 5 years to run on a profitable contract signed on the finish of 2019, with Collingwood nonetheless chipping in for a part of the massive man’s wage.
It helped the Pies unload wage cap house to land their bevy of low season recruits together with McStay, Tom Mitchell and Bobby Hill, with the previous a standout in his first unofficial recreation in black in white with three objectives towards Carlton within the weekend’s match simulation to attract reward from the AFL world.
Watch each pre-season match plus each spherical of the 2023 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
Speaking on SEN on Monday, Buckley, regardless of beforehand questioning the Pies’ determination to off-load Grundy to assist make room for McStay’s reported five-year, $3 million deal, now endorsed the transfer.
“He looks like he’s going to fit in really well there forward of the ball,” Buckley mentioned of McStay, who’s by no means beforehand kicked 30 objectives in a season. “Last year, I couldn’t see it happening how you let Grundy go and then McStay comes in.
“The basis of that was simply on the commitment of dollars in the cap. At that stage, Collingwood needed to shave some money off its cap – say Grundy is on $900,000, they (Collingwood) have to pay $300,000 and Melbourne pays $600,000, and then you bring McStay in for $600,000 – that means the salary cap doesn’t shift.
“I thought there was going to have to be some give from a salary cap perspective, now there may be a little bit of give, especially in the future.
“But in terms of the attributes and strengths that each of those players bring to the table – as good as Grundy is – I believe McStay’s will feed into Collingwood’s needs greater than Grundy’s would’ve in the next five years.
“They’ve got Darcy Cameron and Mason Cox can go into the ruck. I think you can find a ruckman and someone who’ll go and fill that role more readily than you’re going to find someone with real aerial power and strength in front of the ball.
“The early talk is McStay’s communication is first class, he’s connected with his teammates really well, he’s respected already the way he goes about it, his work ethic etc. and he’s needed. He’s needed more in the Collingwood forward line more than he was in the Brisbane forward line – and that for an individual counts for a fair bit as well.”
Buckley in contrast the ruthlessness of Collingwood transferring Grundy, who’s since spoken about his heartbreak in leaving the membership, whereas beneath contract to St Kilda reducing ties with former coach Brett Ratten final October regardless of signing him to a brand new deal three months earlier.
He believes it’s examples of golf equipment placing the staff forward of the person for the higher good.
“Grundy was signed to a long-term and expensive deal at the end of 2019 when he could’ve gone back to Adelaide – and potentially that (Collingwood re-signing him) wasn’t the right decision. Because now you have to let a guy go for less than his actual market worth is when you haven’t maximised his market worth earlier in the piece,” Buckley mentioned.
“It looks like Grundy has been treated poorly as a result. In the end, organisations sometimes have to put your hand up and say: ‘We’ve made an error here and it’s hurting us in the long-term. We’ve got to sacrifice the individual for the good of the team or club in some shape or form.’
“We see that often and that’s where there’s a little bit of a disconnect between what people think is happening and what needs to happen. With all the information, only clubs themselves can make those calls.”
The Demons’ determination to pair Grundy with fellow star ruckman Max Gawn has been a key speaking level over the low season, with many querying whether or not the duo can co-exist at their finest in the identical staff.
However Melbourne’s new ruck combo teamed up successfully of their first unofficial recreation collectively within the membership’s 59-point match simulation win over St Kilda regardless of Dees assistant Troy Chaplin admitting the interrogation of Grundy was a “work in progress.”
For Buckley although, committing so many funds to ruckmen isn’t the easiest way to maximise wage cap.
“I cannot wait to see how Melbourne handle this. The amount of the cap they’ve committed, even though you get Grundy at two-third’s rent potentially – to have Grundy and Gawn, it sounds awesome,” he famous.
“But philosophically I don’t believe you can commit that much of your cap to the ruck role. For (Luke) Jackson and (Sean) Darcy at Fremantle, I still don’t believe that, and I’m really interested to see if that comes to fruition.
“Because ultimately you’re trying to win a flag. It’s a little bit like the NFL – you’ve got your quarter back, your blind side tackle, you can spend your money in different places. Where is the most important role?
“If you had to put key defender, goalkicking midfielder and ruckman as an example of three roles, I would have ruckman the third-most important of those three.
“I think an intercept marking/key defender is one, a goalkicking midfielder is two and a ruckman – as good as he may be, even the best ruckman in the competition – I’d put him at three, in terms of important roles to playing winning footy.”
Originally revealed as Buckley: McStay extra useful to Pies than Grundy
Source: www.news.com.au
