SHANE Mumford was overlooked for the 2009 Grand Final, but his Geelong teammates at the time were desperate for him to be picked.

Mumford debuted in 2008 and played three games, before improving his fitness, fixing his flaws, and growing into a consistent contributor in 2009. He played 18 games that season, but the last was in round 21.

He was overlooked for the finals series, with Mark Blake chosen to partner first-choice ruckman Brad Ottens in the Cats' premiership win over St Kilda. It was a decision that, at the time, his Cats teammates disagreed with.

"As a playing group, we were desperate for him to play in the Grand Final that year," former Geelong forward Cameron Mooney told sydneyswans.com.au.

"It didn't eventuate, and they went with 'Blakey' in the end. We got over the line so it didn't really matter. We all loved [Mumford] and we all really wanted him to play.

"We were all really disappointed for him because we all fell in love with him."

It was Mumford's competitiveness - his chasing, tackling, physicality, and aggression - that had teammates wanting to line-up beside him.

"We knew from the opening bounce to the final siren, he would have thrown his head over the ball and got it kicked off for us," Mooney said.

They are traits still central to Mumford's game as he enters this week's Grand Final, now as a pivotal member of the Sydney Swans.

The Mumford story is as unlikely as it is well told. At 20, he was playing at Bunyip - a town in west Gippsland, Victoria - in a local league.

After playing in Bunyip's premiership in 2006, he followed friend Jason Davenport to Geelong to try out in the VFL. (Davenport went on to play 28 games for Port Adelaide after three years at Geelong.)

Mooney wasn't taken by Mumford, at least initially. "I thought 'What the bloody hell have we got here?" he says.

"He was big and he had a lot of weight on him. I thought the game was too fast for this guy. But in only a little bit of time he grew on me very quickly. I loved his aggression and I loved the way he wants to hurt people."

Mooney had a first-hand view as Mumford refined himself, physically and mentally. He lost his excess weight, and at the same time gained an appetite for hard work.

After having a taste of things in 2008 as a rookie-listed player, Mumford wanted more. He was elevated to the senior list before the start of 2009, and embarked on a pre-season that was crucial to his development.

While in the rehabilitation group as they recovered from injury, Mumford, Mooney and Cats captain Tom Harley would spend regular sessions on the rowing machine.

At the end of every one, Mumford would have rowed more than his more senior and experiences teammates. "He just pushes himself to exhaustion," Mooney said.

Mumford has been a revelation since crossing to the Swans at the end of 2009. In his first year, in 2010, he came second in the club's best and fairest and was an All Australian nominee. He improved again in 2011, and although injury derailed his first half of this season, he has returned to form as the Swans push their premiership case.

On Saturday, the moment won't faze Mumford.

"I think he'll be fantastic," Mooney said.

"The first five minutes, his eyes could be rolling to the back of his head and he might cause some damage.

"But if I was John Longmire, I'd let it go for a little bit as long as it wasn't costing them 50-metre penalties. I'd let him go out and play a really hard, physical game early and get the wind up a few Hawthorn players."?

Callum Twomey us a reporter for the AFL website. Follow him on Twitter at @AFL_CalTwomey.