New Sydney Swans ruckman Brodie Grundy has opened up on the "sobering" moment he knew his time at Melbourne was coming to an end, after he was dropped from the senior side mid-season.
Grundy was traded from Collingwood to the Demons at the end of 2022, with promise he would make up one half of a rucking powerhouse with captain Max Gawn.
Instead, he was sent down to the VFL in order to hone his craft as a forward, but struggled to make it back into the side, meaning he also missed out on the Demons' failed finals campaign.
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The 29-year-old explained how the pain of being axed helped him believe he had unfinished business elsewhere.
"Playing VFL, it's pretty sobering when you get dropped," Grundy said on Triple M radio on Thursday.
"It's tough, and there's that identity piece as well you know."
The ruckman played just 17 games for Melbourne this season before breaking his contract with four years remaining to join the Swans.
"A big part of what we do is our jobs, and we get a lot of satisfaction out of that, and when that isn't where we want it to be, it's hard to reconcile," he said.
"For me, sort of getting towards the end of my career, or closer towards the end, I wanted to able to maximise my time playing AFL footy."
Grundy, who has played 194 games for Collingwood and Melbourne, was quick to put a positive spin on a likely move, convinced he had a lot more to give at the highest level.
"You've got to try and see the light in those opportunities," he said.
"It's a matter of perspective and framing, and I thought, I'm not too old to throw in the towel.
He admitted that despite feeling luckless at the Demons, he attempted to remain "professional", saying he holds no bad blood towards the club.
"Hand on heart, I don't have a bad word to say about Melbourne," Grundy said.
"Honestly I didn't have that thought … I speak about the whole industry as a whole sort of evolving, and I think it takes two.
"The players have got to buy in as well, and the way I've tried to conduct myself is just to be as professional as I can be.
"I'm, at the time, employed by Melbourne Football Club to come in, to train, to challenge Max (Gawn) at training, to try and play on Steven May and Jake Lever in the forward line."
It was another heartbreaking end for the Demons, who were bundled out of the finals in straight-sets for the second consecutive year.
Grundy said he would have loved to help Melbourne grab a second flag in three years, but is comfortable with his move interstate.
"I actually did really want to give it a go and see if I could come in and play finals and kick some goals… but it wasn't to be."
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