Mummy retired, now in a granny

SHANE Mumford can barely believe he is in another grand final on Saturday after retiring in 2017, then coming back for one more year despite controversy over a cocaine-snorting incident. But he’ll line up against the Tigers, hoping for an upset win.

SHANE Mumford has revealed he feared losing the preliminary final with another free kick to Brodie Grundy in the agonising last minutes of Saturday’s game.

Sydney premiership player Mumford played a heroic role in the final frantic stoppages as the Giants neutralised a series of stoppages close to Collingwood’s goal.

The burly cult hero could barely believe he was in another grand final on Saturday after retiring in 2017, then coming back for one more year despite the controversy over a cocaine-snorting incident.

Flanked by his parents Glenn and Janet in the rooms post-match, he was battered and bruised — and exhausted.

Despite Grundy’s dominant game, Mumford came up big when it mattered despite conceding six free kicks to the Pies’ star throughout the game.

“Wow. We just knew we had to hang on basically. We were under the pump [from Collingwood] non-stop.

“If anything, I was probably worried about giving away another free kick in the ruck.

“But I tried to give myself a bit more space and just jump into him and nullify him. It was certainly pretty stressful when it’s locked down in their forward 50 and we are only four points up,” he said.

Mumford’s worst fear was that he would give away the free kick that cost GWS, or that Grundy would “grab it himself” out of the ruck.

“He is pretty good at grabbing it out of the ruck. He managed to do it a few times which I wasn’t happy with. It is bound to happen at some point, he’s a bloody good ruckman

“It’s pretty amazing to retire last year, have 12 months off and then be going into a grand final this week.

“It’s pretty special.”