Traded 28. Allen Christensen (2010-)

2009 National Draft selection no. 40 - Geelong

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/86906/default.aspx

Height: 176cm
Weight: 75kg
DOB: 19/05/91
Recruited from: Lara/Geelong Falcons
Bio: Prolific ball winner who amasses plenty of contested possessions. Sound decision-maker who is extremely clever around goals. Vic Country U18 representative in 2009.

Matt Burgan's draft rating: 10-25

In his own words
What type of player are you?
Good stoppage player who is able to create goals, a good decision maker under pressure and is a good ball winner.

Which AFL player do you feel you resemble, and why?
Someone like Simon Black because he's a good stoppage player who gets possessions frequently.

What are your strengths as a footballer?
Stoppages. Leadership. Decision making.

What parts of your game would you like to improve?
My fitness levels. Burst speed. Left foot.

Which AFL team do you support and how did you come to barrack for them?
Essendon because Dad barracks for them and would go to games with him.

Who has been the biggest influence on your career so far, and why?
Dad because he's always been there to tell me what's going on and he has taught me the way I play.

Click to expand...

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/86906/default.aspx

Re: Like a phoenix from the ashes - Geelong Board player review is back!

Sorry, this is a little long... had a bit of spare time at work this morning

Allen Christensen - 2011

Like so many Geelong supporters, I was extremely pessimistic leaving the 2010 preliminary final after we had been comprehensively belted by Collingwood. Most of us suspected that it would be Gary Ablett’s last game in the hoops – a point rammed home less than a fortnight later when he shook hands with Guy McKenna in his red Suns polo at his first press conference as a former Geelong player. Shortly after, Mark Thompson would jump ship citing “burnout” – only to re-emerge as James Hird’s mentor at Essendon weeks later.

From a Geelong point of view, it seemed our four-year period of dominance was over. Key players were on the wrong side of 30 and surely couldn’t keep up their motivation for yet another season; while new coach Chris Scott seemed extremely impressive; only 12 first year coaches in VFL/AFL history had won premierships in their first season.

But as pre-season 2011 rolled around, I began to feel more confident. We had so many gun players in their prime – Selwood, Bartel, Johnson, Enright – and could expect natural improvement from the likes of Varcoe and Hawkins.

Scott spoke about bringing youngsters into the team, which was music to the ears of most Geelong supporters. Menzel and Duncan had brought renewed enthusiasm into the team in late 2010, only to be dropped for the finals. Our draft crop of 2009 (Menzel, Duncan, Christensen, Vardy) had big wraps on it, and most of us couldn’t wait to see the new guys in action.

Menzel, Duncan and debutante Cameron Guthrie played in the round 1 win over St Kilda. The following week, we travelled to Perth to meet Fremantle with another youngster in tow – Allen Christensen. The small midfielder/forward had been drafted at #40 in the 2009 National Draft, a year after being overlooked entirely for – in his words – “being too fat.”

The boy with the mop of black hair and striking forearm tattoo celebrating his indigenous heritage donned the green substitute’s vest in his first game and was injected late; collecting 8 possessions and showing plenty of poise in a game that went down to the wire. The following week he was substitute again, against Port Adelaide at Skilled Stadium. He kicked his first goal in AFL – celebrating with the type of unbridled excitement that you suspect could only come from somebody drafted to play for the club they supported as a youngster.

Allen missed the round 5 win over Sydney, and was a late inclusion for Johnson in the round 7 win over North Melbourne – picking up 12 disposals after being subbed in for Ottens at half time. In round 8, he waited impatiently on the bench – again with the sub’s vest on - in front of more than 80,000 people in the top of the table clash against Collingwood. He was brought into the game earlier than expected, after Ling appeared to seriously injure his arm in the third quarter. One of Christensen’s first acts was to recklessly throw himself into a contest in Geelong’s forward line, earning himself a free kick for high contact and coolly slotting the goal from 50m – in a game when his team could only manage 8 goals for the night.
It was no surprise when a feature on him in The Age the following week led with the headline “Allen Christensen, sub machine.”

But Christensen’s pace, class and goal scoring ability was providing too valuable to have sitting on the bench for more than half a game. The next week he played a full game against Carlton, earning 18 handy touches. He wouldn’t play again until round 14 – a game that senior teammates such as Selwood, Bartel, Kelly and Ottens missed. In hindsight, missing four weeks freshened him up for the rest of the season – Christensen wouldn’t miss another game. is game against Adelaide was his best to date – 26 classy possessions, 6 tackles, 6 inside-50s and two goals. Commentators compared him to Stokes, but elements of his game were more in line with Ablett Jr – like his ability to shake and break tackles, the way he’d draw two opponents to him while firing off a handball and of course his goal sense. Geelong fans thought he was a shoo-in for the week’s Rising Star nomination, but it went to Gold Coast’s David Swallow (who had less possessions, tackles and SuperCoach points that Christensen that round, but hey, who’s keeping track?)

After a quiet two-goal game against Essendon, Allen started to explode. He had 25 touches and kicked two against Brisbane; and finally earned that Rising Star nomination in round 18 against Richmond with a 26-disposal, two goal game. One his goal was Ablett or Varcoe-esque, tucking the ball under his arm and running towards the boundary line, slotting the goal from a tight angle. The Rising Star nomination didn’t mean much to him though. If you ever want a way to endear yourself to your club’s supporters, you say things like Christensen said straight after the game.
“I don’t really care (about the nomination),” he said.
“Like I’ve said, I play for Geelong, what more could you want? It’s only an award, I get to play for the Cats.”

His career high disposal count of 28 came in the 150-point win against the Gold Coast in round 20 – only four players on the field had more possessions than him.
Christensen was again the substitute in the round 23 loss to Sydney; Scott effectively giving him a ‘rest’ (by only playing him for a quarter) while keeping him match-ready ahead of the finals.
If people weren’t already buzzing about Geelong’s kids, they were in round 24 as between them, Menzel and Christensen scored as many goals as the entire Collingwood team – eight – as Geelong beat the reigning premiers by 96 points. The pair were pure class from start to finish, with Menzel taking high flying marks and Christensen slotting set shots and evading tackles at will.

He joined Menzel, Duncan and West in playing his first finals match in the qualifying final against Hawthorn. Unfortunately Menzel would rupture his ACL in the second quarter, with Stokes replacing him. Christensen was the most impressive of the youngsters (West’s hanger in the last quarter aside) – collecting the equal second-most possessions for the Cats (23) and earning votes in the Herald-Sun.

The preliminary final against West Coast was a one sided affair from early in the contest, but Allan did his part with 19 touches and two goals – one the second goal of the game after a strong contested mark.
Only 25 weeks after making his debut, Christensen was off to the grand final. For three quarters, it was a slugfest in which neither team could break free. While his possession count (15) was more modest than his other two finals, Christensen had an influence. One of his first acts was to earn a free kick for a strong tackle on Luke Ball. Late in the second quarter, when Geelong badly needed a goal, he chipped a deft pass around his body to an unattended Joel Selwood alone in the goal square. Half an hour later, he drew three Collingwood players to him in the middle of the field before shooting out a clean handball to James Kelly.

Only two minutes remained until three quarter time and with Geelong two points up, Josh Hunt blindly bombed the ball high in the air outside his defensive forward 50. Waiting under it were two Collingwood premiership players – Shaw and Toovey – and Christensen.. All three players simultaneously rose for the ball, Christensen putting his foot in Shaw’s back and somehow taking a spectacular mark against two players older and more experienced than him. “The smallest man there, but he rose like a giant!” exclaimed Anthony Hudson in the Channel Ten commentary box. Christensen quickly played on, getting the ball to Bartel in the midfield and the play ended in Hawkins’ third goal for the quarter – giving Geelong some breathing space before three quarter time. It was as close as Collingwood would get for the rest of the match.

Most grand finals have defining moments – Leo Barry’s mark, Scarlett’s toe-poke, Shaw’s smother. If the 2011 grand final will be remembered for one, it has to be Bundy’s mark.

Heading into 2012, Christensen is a premiership player with just 19 games to his name and is seemingly cemented in our best 22. He more than adequately filledthe void left by Ablett in 2011 and provided the explosive pace our midfield otherwise lacked. Barring second year blues, he should get even better next season. Add in Duncan, Vardy, Guthrie, Cowan, Brown, Smedts, Motlop and return of Menzel and Geelong’s future looks a lot brighter than it did this time last year.