Brodie Grundy addresses the media for the first time
Brodie Grundy has the body to go straight away in the AFL but how much senior footy he plays will be up to his coach.
But the South Australian, taken at pick 18 in last week's NAB AFL Draft, has stopped short of declaring he'll challenge for a senior spot straight away.
Watch Thursday's press conference featuring Collingwood's four draftees on CTV in the video above.
Grundy, along with fellow Magpies draftees Ben Kennedy, Tim Broomhead and Jackson Ramsay, fronted the media after a beach session in St Kilda with their new teammates on Thursday.
"My ambition is to play senior football," Grundy said.
"It's something that everyone wants to do.
"Whether that opportunity comes sooner rather than later is up to the coaching staff."
The undisputed best underage ruckman in the country, Grundy had been touted as a potential top four pick for much of 2012.
But, he said, he tried not to take notice of the draft speculation, and was happy to eventually slip through to the league's biggest club.
"You hear your name a little bit, but I just tried not to take much notice of it leading into the draft," he said.
"I tried to stay low key.
"I had uni exams, so I focussed on those."
Grundy will shelve his studies for now to concentrate on his first year as a professional footballer.
Along with fellow South Australians Kennedy and Broomhead, and West Australian Ramsay, he has moved into a house in Kew.
His immediate focus is on learning as much as possible from the club's more experienced big men.
"Training yesterday, going up against [Darren] Jolly, he's so experienced and so strong and knowledgeable, and that's why I'm looking forward to working closely with those senior players and learning as much as I can," Grundy said.
Ramsay, a defender selected at No. 38, and Kennedy, a small midfielder taken at No. 19, both nominated star midfielder Scott Pendlebury as a likely role model.
"He's so professional the way he goes about his training and his off-field stuff as well," Ramsay said.
"I'd like to look up to him and train with him."
Broomhead, taken at pick 20, said his selection by the Magpies had come as a shock.
"When my name was called out it was a bit of a surprise, but obviously very exciting," he said.
"I had a couple of interviews with [Collingwood] during the year, but since the draft camp I hadn't spoken to them.
"No clubs really give much away, so I think any club that picked me, it would have been a surprise.
"But I couldn't have picked a better club than Collingwood with all its history, and it's such a big club."
The four draftees will join the rest of the club's list on its annual pre-season training camp in Utah from December 4.