Who would you prefer? Your Buddy, or your Mummy?
Well considering the significance of yesterday, many would probably say Mummy, but back at the end of 2013, it was all about Buddy.
Except for perhaps when Tony ‘Plugger’ Lockett moved to Sydney, it was expected to be the biggest AFL signing the Harbour City had made, when Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin was about to sign with the GWS Giants.
The Giants had been considered certainties to gain Buddy’s signature, but at the last minute, he announced he was headed to the other Sydney club.
Within 24 hours, as the Giants were seemingly trying to play down missing out on what would have also been the biggest signing of their brief existence, they did announce they had snatched one from their cross-town rivals, with premiership winning ruckman Shane Mumford agreeing to move from East to West to become an Orange person.
At the time – and probably still now – some consider the Swans got the best of the deal, and quite obviously if the Giants had been able to secure Buddy they would have enjoyed so much publicity, and Franklin would have had an impact on the park.
But I now honestly believe the Giants would be laughing at the deal they ended up with.
Mummy – who was reportedly looking at an offer from Hawthorn at the time – would have cost a whole lot less than Buddy, and what he has already brought, and continues to bring to the club and his young teammates, is something not even the great Buddy would have been able to do.
I never thought I would be writing that when I look back at when the Swans paid what was considered at the time ‘overs’ – around a million over four years – for Geelong’s second or even third-string ruckman.
Mumford came to the Swans after they had lost ‘now renovator extraordinaire’ Darren Jolly to Collingwood. And he came to Sydney with more of a reputation for eating sausages than his football.
The story goes – and he did confirm it to me – that the then 130kgs Mummy, when he was living in Bunyip, Victoria, once ate around 20 sausages at a mate’s birthday barbecue. To be fair he “didn’t do it all in one sitting” but across the length of the afternoon and evening.
But that was the main focus of Mumford’s history when he arrived in Sydney.
He rapidly went about making all the media forget the story when he repeatedly was among Sydney’s best, and played a significant role in their 2012 premiership win. He admits he learnt a lot at the Swans working with their experienced midfield and the likes of Brett Kirk, Jude Bolton, Ryan O’Keefe and then Josh Kennedy and co.
And he’s now brought all that knowledge and skill to the Giants. The beneficiaries are their talented but raw group of youngsters.
Last Saturday night against the Hawks he was again a significant key – along with the likes of Jeremy Cameron and Callan Ward.
Stats say one thing, and Mummy’s were satisfying on Saturday – 14 touches (eight contested), 37 hit outs and a massive eight tackles. But you needed to watch to see the impact he had on so many other aspects of the game. He’s a leader by what he does off, and particularly on the park, and clearly his influence is rubbing off on his teammates.
In his first season with the Giants last year, Mumford played 17 matches, and averaged 12.7 touches, 36.4 hit outs, and 5.8 tackles. All were career highs.
In six matches this season, he is averaging 12.8 touches, 33.8 hit outs, and 5.8 tackles.
By comparison, in his premiership winning season in 2012, he averaged 27 hit outs, 10.3 disposals, and 4.4 tackles, although he did share the ruck duties back then with Mike Pyke.
Regardless, the soon-to-be 29-year-old is in arguably the best form of his career, not only as a player, but as a role model and teacher. While some may say Callan Ward, some may say Ryan Griffen, some may suggest Cameron or Lachie Whitfield, or even Izzy Folau from an exposure perspective, I say Mumford has clearly been the Giants’ best recruit.
And who would have thought that 24 hours after the devastation – and while externally they may claim it wasn’t devastating, it was – that the Giants would pull of their great recruiting coup?
Buddy? Buddy who? Shane is starting to make every weekend a Happy Mummy’s Day.
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