'Bizarre' reason Demons didn't play Grundy

Caroline Wilson says it's "bizarre" that Melbourne refused to play out-of-favour ruckman Brodie Grundy in their heartbreaking two-point loss to Carlton in the semi final on Friday night.

It comes as the Demons suffered their second consecutive straight-sets exit from the finals, as a move to Sydney looms likely for Grundy.

"It's just bizarre that they didn't play him," Wilson said on Nine's Footy Classified on Monday night.

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"There were even people inside the four walls who were really surprised that Josh Schache was selected and considered any sort of option.

"Everyone completely denies that there's any really bad blood with Grundy, everyone really understands the situation.

"So why not play him? That was a blunder."

Port Adelaide legend Kane Cornes highlighted the importance of Carlton utilising sub Ollie Hollands, who was crucial in the Blues' last quarter effort.

"He (Hollands) is made of the right stuff. He takes the tricky kicks and is prepared to take a risk. He's really good defensively … versus a Melbourne player (Schache) that's sitting on the bench," Cornes said.

"I think he (Grundy) would have had a big impact in that last quarter.

https://twitter.com/melbournefc/status/1702683006165790793

"Gawn forward was the option they weren't able to go to because they didn't have a second ruckman."

"It was a shadow on their season in the end, Grundy," media personality Craig Hutchison added.

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As for Grundy's next move, Sydney loom likely to pick up the 29-year-old, meaning he will break his contract with the Demons four years early.

But Wilson believes Grundy will make another wrong decision if he chooses the Swans, listing Port Adelaide as the better choice for Grundy's lifestyle.

"Port Adelaide was a better choice last year, but he chose Melbourne because of study and lifestyle situations. It was wrong," Wilson said.

"Brodie Grundy made a really bad call this year, because he chose a town. He chose Melbourne because he wanted to stay in Melbourne. He chose a club that was clearly the wrong club.

"You're being paid close to a million bucks to play footy, you should be taking the footy presentation."