Kyerin Grundy, brother of Sydney ruckman Brodie, has been left empty-handed after winning the 2025 AFL Fantasy competition, only to be told he was ineligible for the $70,000 Toyota HiLux that comes with the crown.
Grundy topped more than 150,000 teams to finish first overall, a feat achieved by only a handful of fantasy players.
But within days of his triumph, the AFL confirmed he was disqualified under its eligibility rules, which ban employees, club staff and “immediate family” members from claiming prizes.
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Confusion over ‘immediate family’ rule
The sticking point was the definition of ‘immediate family’. While AFL Auskick guidelines typically list spouses, children and parents, siblings are not explicitly mentioned. Grundy believed this made him eligible, only to be told otherwise after his win.
“They would have known I was going to win a prize of some sort, and then no one said anything until Monday was disappointing,” he told 7News. “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… They’ve just sort of totally just blown it off.”
The 27-year-old argued his relationship with Brodie gave him no advantage in a competition dependent on trades, captain choices and, often, luck. He also appeared earlier this month on The Traders podcast, an official AFL Fantasy show, where even the hosts seemed unaware of any rule that would prevent him from collecting the prize.
The AFL has yet to announce whether Grundy will still be recognised as the overall winner, or if the title and the Hilux will be handed to the runner-up.