Draft Profile Reece McKenzie

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Chris25

Chris25

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Oct 30, 2007
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Reece McKenzie
Height: 196cm
Weight: 100kg
From: Northern Knights, Vic Metro
Position: Forward​

Fresh off a 10 goal haul in the TAC Cup yesterday, Reece McKenzie is next up on my list of profiles. He's a player who isn't getting a lot of exposure, but one that I rate highly. All season, I've had McKenzie as a top 5 key forward in this draft and a likely second round draft pick. But it seems not all agree.

I'll start with his game yesterday - 18 disposals, 13 marks (6 of those contested), three goal assists, 10 goals and 4 behinds. A total of 256 Supercoach points for those of you keeping score. It is without the doubt the best game he has played, and will probably end up as the individual performance of the 2014 TAC Cup season. Hopefully it's the game that sees him take his game to the next level consistently, but even that one game would likely be enough to get him drafted. Although having said that, his other games this season haven't been bad by any means. McKenzie had kicked 8 goals in 5 games leading into the match, switching between full forward and the ruck. It's been good to see him get a chance to stretch his legs, as opposed to playing out of the goal square all match. He has shown enough to suggest that pinch hitting could be in his future if needed.

Unfortunately, it hasn't all been good news for McKenzie this year. Through a combination of injury and competition for spots, he only managed the one game for Vic Metro in the U18 Championships this year. Which I did find a little odd. I understand that the likes of Wright and Moore will be picked first, but he deserved more game time and showed more than enough in his one game to get another. And further exposure at the top level would have been a real positive for his development too. He didn't play any TAC Cup football last year, as he chose to instead focus on basketball, so in the grand scheme of things he is still relatively raw as a player.

Despite a limited viewing sample this year, the reason I'm confident that McKenzie will get a chance come November is because he is essentially the template for what clubs are looking for in a key forward - over 195cm, strong body, contested marker, athletic. He isn't going to run all day from a CHF position, but his basketball background has given him quite decent agility for someone his size and weight. And it's the contested marking that will really make teams take notice. Roughly half his marks in the TAC Cup this year have been contested ones. And being able to clunk a mark like that isn't something you can really teach, which gives him a massive advantage.

But, McKenzie isn't a sure thing by any means. And in picking him, you are largely picking someone on potential with only flashes of performance. That's always a risk, and can go either way. Clubs are always going to back their development programs though. Otherwise, his kicking is where he lets himself down quite a bit. As I said before, he had kicked 8 goals in his 5 games before this weekend. But, he'd also kicked 8 behinds and finished with another 4 to go with his ten goal haul. He'll need to improve that if he is to truly be a focal point up forward, and while he seems to know his limitations during general game play, some of his field kicking could stand to improve too. And like all key position players, consistency and fading in and out of games has been a slight issue this year.

Personally, I tend to think a lot of his weaknesses will be ironed out with a good 2-3 years of development at an AFL club. It's then just a matter of whether it all clicks, or if he remains one of those potentially great forwards who never quite make it. In terms of draft position, I could see him going anywhere from the second to the third round. It's not a great draft for genuine full forwards - you have McCartin, Wright and then some of the Academy boys. It's why I rate McKenzie as the third or fourth best on the open market. And with a strong finish to the season, there is no reason he couldn't sneak into the top 20 like Michael Apeness did last year. Teams will pay for a player like him.
 
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And that's exactly what he should be doing - dominating against weaker opposition. For those wondering, he kicked 7 goals today against the NT.

A lot of the criticism seems to be around his inconsistency, and that if you take away the 10 goal haul then he has kicked 9 goals in 6 games. But, it's worth noting that he has also kicked 10 behinds in those 6 games. That's over 3 shots on goal a game, which is more than respectable. It's not like he has been completely invisible.

I've said it elsewhere, but a lot of the key forwards in this draft are more your athletic types who project as second or third talls. There aren't many 100kg contested marking forwards like McKenzie on offer.
 

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What attributes do McCartin, Wright and Durdin bring to the table that McKenzie doesn't.

In recent weeks has kicked 8 (APS), 10 (TAC), 1 (TAC and triple teamed), 16 (APS) and 7 (TAC). I don't see any of those sorts of figures coming from anyone else anywhere.

Chris25 this is not a 'chip' post it is an honest question. Why isn't he a top ten pick?
 
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He doesn't have the runs on the board, compared to those other top guys - they've been performing as underaged players, whereas McKenzie is only returning to football this year. Which may not seem that important, but familiarity is important on BigFooty. They've also got him covered on pure ability - Durdin with his skills, Wright with his versatility and McCartin being the more well rounded full forward. All three also have McKenzie covered athletically, particularly Durdin and Wright.

You could argue that McKenzie is slightly limited in his game, but if he does fulfill his potential then he'll be a handful for opposition teams. You just have to look at Carlton and how a firing Levi Casboult changed the entire dynamic.
 
Chris25 said:
He doesn't have the runs on the board, compared to those other top guys - they've been performing as underaged players, whereas McKenzie is only returning to football this year. Which may not seem that important, but familiarity is important on BigFooty. They've also got him covered on pure ability - Durdin with his skills, Wright with his versatility and McCartin being the more well rounded full forward. All three also have McKenzie covered athletically, particularly Durdin and Wright.

You could argue that McKenzie is slightly limited in his game, but if he does fulfill his potential then he'll be a handful for opposition teams. You just have to look at Carlton and how a firing Levi Casboult changed the entire dynamic.
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I think the main point you make is 'fulfill his potential'. If you didn't know the history of the 4 guys and went purely on this years performance levels at their local and school clubs then RMc is leading buy the length of the straight.

I look forward to the various 'athletic results' for all 4 after the draft camp. An interesting question to pose would be.....If RMc had not been playing basketball and instead had the same AIS guidance and training as the other 3 these past 2/3 years, where might he be now in the pecking order.

Thanks for the reply.
 
Sezzac1 said:
What attributes do McCartin, Wright and Durdin bring to the table that McKenzie doesn't.

In recent weeks has kicked 8 (APS), 10 (TAC), 1 (TAC and triple teamed), 16 (APS) and 7 (TAC). I don't see any of those sorts of figures coming from anyone else anywhere.

Chris25 this is not a 'chip' post it is an honest question. Why isn't he a top ten pick?
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Minor quibble, and if you check out our board you'll see I have a serious man-crush on the kid (just ask Rahul), but I think you'll find Marcellin is in AGS, not APS.
 
:eek: Sorry to offender your educational sensibilities. Perhaps your man crush will go through the roof when he makes your day next Saturday if/when he kicks another 10 for the AGS vs APS.
 
Sezzac1 said:
:eek: Sorry to offender your educational sensibilities. Perhaps your man crush will go through the roof when he makes your day next Saturday if/when he kicks another 10 for the AGS vs APS.
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:p

Big fan. Just what my boys need IMO.
 
Sezzac1 said:
What attributes do McCartin, Wright and Durdin bring to the table that McKenzie doesn't.

In recent weeks has kicked 8 (APS), 10 (TAC), 1 (TAC and triple teamed), 16 (APS) and 7 (TAC). I don't see any of those sorts of figures coming from anyone else anywhere.

Chris25 this is not a 'chip' post it is an honest question. Why isn't he a top ten pick?
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Might be mckenzie's biggest fan. The two bags in TAC have been against very very weak opponents. Eastern didn't have dan nielson when he kicked 10 against them, and NT are probably the weakest div 2 side. He's got some frustration issues, and recruiters are definitely seeing him as a late first round early second option now. Here is my draft profile on him and also a feature piece i did on him which you can find on the website

http://boundforglorynews.com/2014-draft-profile-reece-mckenzie/
 
Hoping he slips through to our 2nd round pick. Sadly all the teams that finish below Carlton (except GWS) are crying out for KPF's also.
 

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6 more today vs a crap Bendigo team. Knightmare will have to put him back to #5 again. He has Reece up and down like a Brides nightie.

He had him go from 5 to 11 b/t Monday and Friday when no games were played. :confused: How does that work:eek:
 
Sezzac1 said:
6 more today vs a crap Bendigo team. Knightmare will have to put him back to #5 again. He has Reece up and down like a Brides nightie.

He had him go from 5 to 11 b/t Monday and Friday when no games were played. :confused: How does that work:eek:
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Watching tape, deciding you were wrong, it happens. I'm changing my mind about some draftees what seems like every hour (see Laverde, Goddard)! Reece should continue to impress, option in the 20s but will take the longest of any prospect in the draft to make his mark. Needs a few years at an elite development system.
 
Come on! I am so sick of reading ridiculous statements stating why Reece McKenzie is a first or second round selection. Give me a break!

Stop heaping all these ridiculous expectations on this kid. He is a development prospect, incredibly raw. He's shown in patches what he is capable of, albeit against average opposition and that more importantly was missing their No.1 key defender.

McKenzie at this stage, relies heavily on his height and weight to dominate. He towers over the TAC Cup competition, and is physically well advanced than most. This might sound harsh - but throw back to Ryan Willits, it's a similar comparison.

McKenzie will not be a second round pick, more likely third round is a good starting point. He still needs to work on his agility, engine and defensive pressure, but considering his height, size, aggressive and combative style of play plus his ability to clunk contested marks as a starting point, he's more than equipped to make it at the next level, however he'll be a player who spends a while developing before given a crack in say his third year for example.

A better way to look at him is to somewhat compare him to Mitch Harvey last year. Ticked all the boxes in areas that would make him a quality key position forward, but had big question marks over a few key specific areas.

I want to make this really clear; I am a big fan of Reece. I've interviewed him a few times, and I work closely with the Knights football club. He is a quality character, but he's aware of what he needs to work on. I am in no way, shape or form writing him off or suggesting he won't get picked, because someone will take a punt on him somewhere IMO in the middle of the draft.

I will be calling this weekends game at Preston City Oval between the Knights and the Cannons. If he can really dominate or at the very least prove to be a threat against a side that should contest this year's grand final, then we'll find out a bit more about him. But given the knights won't play finals, this will be a really good test for him in how he finishes off the season.
 
SCPaige said:
Come on! I am so sick of reading ridiculous statements stating why Reece McKenzie is a first or second round selection. Give me a break!

Stop heaping all these ridiculous expectations on this kid. He is a development prospect, incredibly raw. He's shown in patches what he is capable of, albeit against average opposition and that more importantly was missing their No.1 key defender.

McKenzie at this stage, relies heavily on his height and weight to dominate. He towers over the TAC Cup competition, and is physically well advanced than most. This might sound harsh - but throw back to Ryan Willits, it's a similar comparison.

McKenzie will not be a second round pick, more likely third round is a good starting point. He still needs to work on his agility, engine and defensive pressure, but considering his height, size, aggressive and combative style of play plus his ability to clunk contested marks as a starting point, he's more than equipped to make it at the next level, however he'll be a player who spends a while developing before given a crack in say his third year for example.

A better way to look at him is to somewhat compare him to Mitch Harvey last year. Ticked all the boxes in areas that would make him a quality key position forward, but had big question marks over a few key specific areas.

I want to make this really clear; I am a big fan of Reece. I've interviewed him a few times, and I work closely with the Knights football club. He is a quality character, but he's aware of what he needs to work on. I am in no way, shape or form writing him off or suggesting he won't get picked, because someone will take a punt on him somewhere IMO in the middle of the draft.

I will be calling this weekends game at Preston City Oval between the Knights and the Cannons. If he can really dominate or at the very least prove to be a threat against a side that should contest this year's grand final, then we'll find out a bit more about him. But given the knights won't play finals, this will be a really good test for him in how he finishes off the season.
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See you there Paige, I'm indulging my man-crush.
 
Haha, Barrels mate - he's your boy! Come say g'day to me on Saturday. I'll be the chic running around with the microphone along the boundary line haha ;):p
 
SCPaige said:
Haha, Barrels mate - he's your boy! Come say g'day to me on Saturday. I'll be the chic running around with the microphone along the boundary line haha ;):p
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My appearance fee is $2200 incl. GST.
 
Will do his chances no harm this week when rumor has it he will line up at CHB.

SCPaige, here's a question for you. What is the difference b/t where Reece is at now and where Kurt Tippet was at the same time playing for Queensland U18's?
 
Sezzac1 said:
Will do his chances no harm this week when rumor has it he will line up at CHB.

SCPaige, here's a question for you. What is the difference b/t where Reece is at now and where Kurt Tippet was at the same time playing for Queensland U18's?
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Firstly, Tippett was an athlete. He had terrific agility and good athleticism, which is what McKenzie is probably lacking at this stage. Both were/are good contested marks, both read the play well, both are versatile enough, Tippett was leaner thats for sure. Both had inconsistencies in their games, but more to the point Tippett's agility, mobility and ability beneath his knees was always a standout attribute. It's just not something that is one of McKenzie's strengths - but he certainly has a lot of upside.

I suggest that with further development and a really good fitness program that those areas of development will come out once his body becomes a bit leaner. he's not fat - don't get me wrong - but he needs to lean down to cover more ground and more importantly bring out those other areas of his game. Both are quality basketballers, so it's all there. It's a matter of extracting it.
 
Uncle Barrels said:
Be an interesting matchup if McKenzie does play on Wright...
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It'll be interesting more for the fact that one goal sepperates both Calder's Jayden Foster and Reece McKenzie in order to take home the leading goal kicker award at this years Morrish Medal.

If McKenzie goes to half back and plays on Foster - which is what I have been told it's only because AFL recruiters have requested to talent manager Peter Kennedy that they want to see him play on quality key defenders to gauge an idea of his fitness/agility/defensive side - which the latter is lacking.

You'd suspect with the Knights losing seven games this year after leading throughout that they'll try get McKenzie over the line to beat Foster (Wright is six goals behind and isn't in contention).

Wright will be utilised through the ruck tomorrow with stints up forward. But McKenzie will go straight to Foster if indeed he does start at CHB.
 
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