Loading "I don't get pissed off or angry much ... I don't know what happened. I probably tried to ragdoll him." Those watching on included Magpies recruiter Derek Hine, who, according to Grundy, loves recalling the moment when he was convinced Collingwood should draft the South Australian. Despite that moment of aggression, Daniher and Grundy remain friends; they laughed about the battle as soon as it finished, unaware they had stunned onlookers with the ferocity they had displayed. "Joe's similar to me. He will have a crack if someone pokes the bear," Grundy said.

Even Grundy finds it hard to explain where this competitive nature stems from, because, as he says with some justification, he's normally a relaxed person – a lover, not a fighter. But he concedes with a chuckle that growing up with two brothers, Kyerin, three years older and Riley, six years younger and on Port Adelaide's list, taught him a few lessons. "We'd be bored and say 'hey, do you want to fight?'" Grundy said. "We would go in to the spare room and just fight, which is just bizarre. That stopped happening when I grew to be the size that I was." Right now Grundy is listed as 203 centimetres and 100 kilograms, and is viewed alongside Melbourne's Max Gawn as the game's best ruckman, comfortably sitting among the AFL's top 10 players.

Loading He has also learned what he needs to remain balanced and fresh in a demanding role. "When I am at the club I try to be at 100 perc ent and when it is time to chill I try to chill 100 per cent," Grundy said. He trekked to Everest base camp in the wake of last year's memorable grand final, breathing in the fresh air and admiring the landscape, rejuvenating his body and mind for the season ahead. Inadvertently, he dropped six kilograms on the way. Immersing himself in another culture is what Grundy enjoys at the end of each season, his interaction with the Nepalese people on the trip reminding him to be grateful for the life he leads as a student-footballer.

"It is an awesome gig and spending time with people that you love and people that you enjoy spending time with and trying to win on the weekend is pretty cool," Grundy said. "We have a collective purpose and people spend their whole life trying to find that, so to have a short period of your life where you are trying to work towards something, it's pretty cool." Grundy enjoys immersing himself in different cultures in the off-season. Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui But he is a curious man, asking "why" as often as "what", naturally open to people and experiences inside and outside the AFL bubble as he aims to be the best he can be at whatever he attempts. Recently he listened to Melburnian ultra-endurance cyclist Abdullah Zeinab relay his experience in winning the Trans Am Bike Race, an epic 6800 kilometre pedal across America, achieved in record time.

Zeinab said the lessons he learned along the gruelling journey gave the ride its real value. Victory was a bonus. That message resonated with Grundy, as did the text message Collingwood assistant coach Garry Hocking sent the 25-year-old this week. "You don't have to be whole to shine," appeared on Grundy's screen. "I just punched back 'It's a crescent moon,'" Grundy said. The exchange was part of a regular routine the two have established, Hocking explaining what he was wanting to convey as he dropped a coffee over to Grundy as this interview was being conducted at Collingwood's training centre in the old Oympic Pool. "He wants to be the best, which is great and sometimes he is disappointed when he has been very, very good and he can't see it," Hocking said. "He can be a crescent moon and shine light and lead people."

Grundy understands he carries an innate desire to reach a high standard in anything he does, whether that be rucking for the Magpies or studying health sciences at LaTrobe University, or the multitude of other aspects of a twenty-something's life—from art (he dabbles in street art) to teaching his beloved border collie, Ayevah, to "speak" on command. He's aware that characteristic, combined with his competitiveness, could make him too hard on himself as he competes in front of tens of thousands of people in a fierce environment every weekend. "Certainly, you need you have self-awareness – where you sit and how other people [opponents] are going and tracking," Grundy said. "The drawback to that is that if you are always comparing yourself to other people then when is it ever enough?" It's a good question and one Grundy knows his girlfriend Rachael Wertheim helps him answer better than anyone, describing her as his biggest influence, the person who grounds him, listens to him and reminds him what remaining true to himself entails. But he has genuine gratitude for others too, like his aunt, Louise Palmer, with whom he lived when he began at Collingwood, a time that was spent more in Pilates classes to overcome a back issue than on the field; or his ruck coach Anthony Rocca, who took him under his wing when he arrived at the club and regularly welcomed him into the family for a home-cooked meal.