Missing Grundy Was One Of Port’s Biggest Ever Draft Mistakes, Says Kane Cornes

Port Adelaide messed up when it overlooked Brodie Grundy in the 2012 AFL Draft, says Kane Cornes.

Writing in The Advertiser, Kane called it the club’s “biggest recruiting mistake since overlooking 17-year-old South Australian Matthew Pavlich in 1998”.

“Port Adelaide were exposed to Grundy when he came to train with the club for a week in 2011 as part of the AFL-AIS Academy program,” Kane writes.

“When introduced into match play against the seasoned Power ruckman, Grundy immediately dominated and had the Port Adelaide playing group looking on in awe of this powerful 17-year-old man mountain.

“The Sturt product was touted as a top 10 selection prior to the draft and with Port armed with pick seven they were in the prime position to pounce on him…

“Despite their affection for Grundy, Port believed they already were stocked with young ruckmen and put their faith in Jarred Redden and Matthew Lobbe to carry the future ruck duties of the club.”

The club instead picked Ollie Wines.

“Wines will go on to captain the club, maybe as early as next year, and will be a solid player for many years to come.

“However, Grundy has become a top 10 player in the league and shared All Australian honours with Melbourne’s Max Gawn this year.”