LATE last season, Sydney Swans defender Heath Grundy was preparing himself for a titanic away clash against Geelong and its key forwards James Podsiadly and Tom Hawkins.

Grundy hadn't been feeling 100 per cent healthy, but he still performed well, and helped keep the Geelong duo to just six marks and no goals as the Swans secured a historic victory.

It was two weeks out from the finals, and the Swans' 13-point win secured their top-eight spot and famously snapped the Cats' record four-year, 29-game home winning streak.

What Grundy didn't know, and what made his effort all the more impressive, was that he was playing with glandular fever.

"I felt a bit crook one night after playing St Kilda (in round 22) and thought I had the flu or something," Grundy told sydneyswans.com.au during a break from pre-season training.

"I was a bit iffy to play and then felt alright in the morning and felt tired during the game.

"The week after, against Geelong, I was a bit the same as well and just wasn't feeling right.

"A couple of times during the game I was a bit flat and struggling to get going. I'd make one or two efforts and I'd be buggered.

"I got a blood test and turned out it was glandular fever. So that's how it went.

"I don't know where I got it from, but it knocks you about and I missed the rest of the season."

A key member of the Swans' miserly defence, Grundy's absence was felt hard as they entered the finals.

He had played all 20 games up until the Geelong clash, often taking on some of the game's best forwards.

The diagnosis came as a surprise to Grundy and to his coach John Longmire.

"Heath Grundy at his best is a really good player for us," Longmire said.

"He missed the end of the year with his glandular fever and it was a blow for us.

"Him and Teddy (Richards) play on the best forwards each week.

"When I got the phone call, it was a bit of a curve ball I didn't expect."

The Swans battled past St Kilda in round one of the finals to set up a semi-final showdown with Hawthorn.

Grundy had two reasons to cheer on his side against the Hawks - naturally he wanted his club to progress, while one more week of rest would have allowed him to return for a preliminary final.

Instead, the Swans' season ended in a six-goal defeat.

"If we'd won against Hawthorn, I would've been right to play the week after, but unfortunately we didn't get through," Grundy said.

"But I'm feeling good now and training well and hopefully can come back bigger and better this year."

Up until his illness, Grundy had steadily been accumulating games and now sits on 90 for his career. He is excited about the prospect of bringing up triple figures.

"Getting close," he said. "You sort of count them as you go and once you start stringing a few games together they roll on by a bit quicker, which is always nice.

"I'd be stoked to play 100 games, it'd be a fairly big achievement I think and it's in the back of my mind."

Grundy says the Swans will take confidence from the way they performed in 2011 into the new campaign.

"I think we have to be careful that we don't just want to play finals every year and not go all the way through," he said.

"We want to keep building on previous years.

"We had some young guys come in last year and to still reach the finals and play some good footy, hopefully we can have a bit more of a consistent year this year and go from there."

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of the AFL or the clubs