Shane Mumford gave up six free kicks to Brodie Grundy on Saturday night, but he kept his cool when it mattered.
The Magpies had the Giants on the ropes, trapped in their own 50 for the final minutes of the preliminary final at the MCG in what seemed to be the culmination of a huge Collingwood comeback.
The men in black and white kicked four straight but could only muster a couple behinds in the final surge, leaving them four points shy.
The final minutes were chock-a-block with stoppages, prime opportunities for Grundy, the best ruckman in the league, to draw a free from the tiring Mumford.
“We just knew we had to hang on basically. We were under the pump non-stop. If anything I was probably worried about giving away another free kick in the ruck,” Mumford said after the game.
Aside from giving away the free, Mumford said he was also worried about Grundy grabbing the ball straight out of the stoppage and kicking a goal.
“He is pretty good at grabbing it out of the ruck. He managed to do it a few times which I wasn’t too happy with. It is bound to happen at some point, he is a bloody good ruckman.”
However, history will show that Mumford held on, helping send his Giants to their first grand final this Saturday.
After their monster effort, Mumford says the team will "have [their] work cut out for them” against the Tigers next week.
While the ruck play in Richmond is by no means as tough as the challenge Mumford faced with Grundy, he says he will be focusing again on limiting free kicks.
“The ruck free kicks I need to avoid. They are a free shot. If you slip or get someone high with a tackle that’s sometimes unavoidable. The ones in the ruck I have to avoid. I said that last week, but I have to do it again.”
Whatever happens this Saturday at the G, you can count on Mumford to put it all on the table.
