Rhyce Shaw held the 2012 premiership cup aloft with evergreen Swans defender Heath Grundy and six years later mentors him as Sydney’s backs coach.

He is now showering Grundy in praise ahead of Sydney’s clash with Adelaide on Friday in which the 31-year-old will break a Swans games record for a player who started on a Rookie list.

Shaw said Grundy’s influence on the club is immense.

“Reggie’s been a really reliable defender for us for a long time,” Shaw said.

“He gets the big jobs on the big forwards and more often than not comes out on top in most situations. He’s been a fantastic contributor to the club for a very long time.

“In any group having guys like that with so much experience and so much knowledge is very important and Reggie’s certainly one of those. The difference he makes in terms of his voice and instruction and not just his football talent is incredible.

“Reggie’s played a big part in the development of the younger defenders – Harry Marsh and Lewis Melican and Aliir Aliir to an extent as well. You’ve got no better example of how to go about it and how to exceed over a long period of time.”

Grundy will surpass former Swans captain Brett Kirk who played 241 AFL games between 1999 and 2010.

But questions once lingered over whether the career of one of the greatest Swans servants would see the light of day.

Grundy entered the 2004 National Draft at which he wasn’t able to secure an AFL contract.

He had also been overlooked in 2003.

But the Modbury Hawks junior grabbed his chance when the Swans signed him at the 2005 Rookie Draft, held in November of 2004.

The club recruited Grundy from the Norwood Redlegs in the South Australian National Football League through pick 42.

He made his senior debut against Richmond in Round 16 of 2006 as the Swans secured a 48-point win at the SCG.

He has played 20-plus games every season since 2009 but in another indication of his grinding journey to the top managed just 24 AFL games across 2006, ’07 and ’08.

He has also played the most consecutive games (69) of all current Swans.

Grundy started as a forward and didn’t move to defence until 2009 when coach Paul Roos needed him to fill a void.

Defence was a good fit because the side’s forward line was streaked with the names Barry Hall, Adam Goodes and Michael O’Loughlin, three of the game’s greatest-ever forwards who made for difficult competition.

Grundy impressed as a backman from the get-go and hasn’t looked back since.

“Any story like that shows a great resilience,” Shaw said.

“To be knocked back like that and then to fight your way through onto a Rookie list takes a lot. The key for me would be resilience and how he’s kept ploughing on and he just does the job week in and week out.

“Reggie was a fantastic teammate, he’s a great bloke off the field and on the field, he’s a really good man and to see him achieve this milestone is no mean feat. It shouldn’t be forgotten how far he’s come and what an achievement it is. He’s put in the hard yards and he’s played on some unbelievable players and more often than not has come out on top. It’s a fantastic effort and 242 games is huge.”

Grundy’s 242nd appearance will put him in eighth on the all-time overall Rookie list.

Former Western Bulldog Matthew Boyd (292 games) leads the way, while Dean Cox (290), Stephen Milne (275) and Michael Firrito (275) round out the podium.

Shaw said Grundy has reason to be proud.

“Any time you do achieve something like this you should look back on it fondly and I certainly think it is a huge milestone.”