The brother of Sydney Swans ruckman Brodie Grundy has been left heartbroken after being stripped of the AFL Fantasy crown he thought he had secured.
Kyerin Grundy outscored more than 150,000 other entrants across the season to finish in first place.
Normally, that achievement would come with a major prize – a Toyota Hilux worth up to $70,000.
But at the last moment, Grundy was told he would not be receiving the keys.
The AFL confirmed his ineligibility on the basis that he is the brother of Sydney ruckman Brodie Grundy.
Competition rules state that employees of the AFL, club staff, and their immediate families cannot claim prizes.
Kyerin Grundy finished in first place in the AFL Fantasy competition but has been denied the top prize because he is the brother of Swans star Brodie Grundy
Brodie had a big season for the Swans, with a late season charge netting his brother plenty of AFL Fantasy points
However, the Fantasy guidelines did not clearly define who qualifies as ‘immediate family.’
Other AFL-run competitions, such as Auskick promotions, have listed spouses, children, and parents as examples.
Kyerin argued that being related to a player offered him no advantage in a contest that depends on trades, captain choices and luck.
And Kyerin did not rocket to the top by just picking his brother.
In fact, he didn’t pick the Swans until later in the season, installing his as captain and cleaning up in the rankings.
Grundy previously followed his brother’s former club Melbourne, naming his fantasy team Dee-struction after the Demons, but he now goes for his brother’s new club the Sydney Swans.
‘I must admit, I was a bit late to jump on the party and actually get him into my team this year,’ Kyerin told the AFL Fantasy with The Traders podcast.
‘I was all aboard the All Australian talk early … but it did take me a little bit of time, I must admit, to fully lock him in the team.
Kyerin has followed his brother’s career closely including stints at Collingwood and Melbourne
‘Being the older brother, maybe I just needed to see a little bit more.
‘He’s certainly back to, some might say his prime. Hunting the ball really well, which is fantastic to see.’
While Kyerin was late to pick Grundy, he moved him to captain at a crucial time, when he was top scorer of the round.
‘I started off just outside the top 1000, and then that really gave me the hope that I might be able to compete for a hat.
‘My friend, a couple of years ago, he finished seventh and it probably wasn’t until that point that I was like ‘wow, it’s actually possible’.
‘A few good trades here and there has led me to this point.’
After hearing nothing following his appearance on the podcast, Grundy assumed he was fairly leading the pack.,
‘They would have known I was going to win a prize of some sort and then no one said anything until the Monday [which] was disappointing,’ Grundy told Channel 7.
‘I think it went to their legal team and they’ve then decided that under the immediate family rule, that I’m not eligible for the prizes, and that also, they were unaware of me being on The Traders podcast, and they took it down as soon as they realised.
‘So they’ve just sort of totally just blown it off.
‘I don’t even know if they’re going to still recognise me as the overall winner or if someone else is the overall winner.’
While Grundy has conceded the prize is lost, he hopes to still be acknowledged as the overall winner.
‘It’s like, I’ve just been totally shunned and they want to wipe me from the record books,’ he said.
A formal announcement on the winner is yet to be made. An AFL spokesperson told Channel 7 the prize eligibility rules are stated in the terms and conditions.
