Ned is a great example of people jumping early in judgement, So many writing him off as a wasted pick but 2nd half of the year he certainly did a lot to justify his selection at pick 16. I am extremely happy to have him around long term.
Player Watch Ned McHenry
- Thread starter Deaneus!
- Start date
- Tagged users None
My Crows jersey has a 25 on the back of it, being a Father's day present on the day Rutten played his last game.
Great to see McHenry growing into a player worthy of that number.
Mark Mickan and Ben Rutten gave the number a strong connection to my West Adelaide supporting youth as well.
(That said, haven't really tried to keep up with the SANFL after moving to Canberra in 1991).
Great to see McHenry growing into a player worthy of that number.
Mark Mickan and Ben Rutten gave the number a strong connection to my West Adelaide supporting youth as well.
(That said, haven't really tried to keep up with the SANFL after moving to Canberra in 1991).
I have to admit I missed that at first. I was so busy watching and enjoying him buzzing around like a fly in a bottle, being a pest and working hard, that I never thought about his disposal. Then I started to go "hang about, this kid can kick!". A very neat kick, is how it struck me.
I don't know if that's because it took me a while to catch on, or it took him a while to get it going....
McHenry's kicking in the AFL, particularly set shot kicking, was initially pretty poor. It was frustrating as he'd shown himself to have reasonable skills in the SANFL. It looked to me like he cleaned that part of this game up as the season wore on.
Seemed like an example of a bloke not immediately adjusting to the pace of the game at the next level to me.
Noting that within 30 odd games is a perfectly reasonable time for that adjustment to happen.
A lot of people, myself included were very critical of his and other players 2020 seasons. Collectively, we need to forget about 2020 form completely when judging players. Most of our young players looked terrible and unfit including Mchenry, Jones and Mcasey. We barely resembled a football team, it was putrid to watch.
I now think of 2021 year as 'Year 2' for Ned/Jones. And they were pretty decent and showed something worth persisting with.
On SM-A325F using BigFooty.com mobile app
I now think of 2021 year as 'Year 2' for Ned/Jones. And they were pretty decent and showed something worth persisting with.
On SM-A325F using BigFooty.com mobile app
UcantCme
Premiership Player
- Mar 3, 2021
- 3,873
- 5,751
- AFL Club
- Adelaide
Ned is a running machine and in 2020 it was more to do with his body not ready for AFL..... he was probably guilty of pushing himself too hard, too early
On SM-G973F using BigFooty.com mobile app
- Jul 6, 2017
- 28,514
- 37,974
- AFL Club
- Adelaide
We should consider rotating Neddy and Benny Keays on the opposition best midfielder and when not on point, play at half forward where the pressure role is important. The gut running both Ned and ben give should make life hell for the opposition best mids and as we have both boys, it allows for good rotation to keep the energy levels right up there to niggle the schitt out of their man
I think the strength and fitness level of our entire list during the 2020 season was below SANFL standard after the COVID break. When other teams fell away a bit and we caught up slightly on fitness near the end of the year, we managed to win some games, but in terms of physical development I think 2020 was a bit of a write-off for some sections of the playing group, those three included.
- Sep 23, 2012
- 3,737
- 5,652
- AFL Club
- Adelaide
- Other Teams
- Sturt, Ozark Mountain Daredevils
We also had a new coach and players who had to train in small groups due to Covid so no game plan, or no coherent one anyway.
Thats why Nicks was using water bottles in the change rooms after matches, it was his only chance to get everyone together.
The Rocks
Senior List
- Nov 17, 2020
- 229
- 171
- AFL Club
- Adelaide
Ahh, people are starting to see what I saw all year! Ok I didn't see it last year!
Ned McHenry starts 2022 at the bounce! He's not and never will be a half forward. Ned needs the contest and will thrive in the midfield! Can't wait!
On RMX1941 using BigFooty.com mobile app
Ned McHenry starts 2022 at the bounce! He's not and never will be a half forward. Ned needs the contest and will thrive in the midfield! Can't wait!
On RMX1941 using BigFooty.com mobile app
Golumless
A bigger deal out west.
He's looking like a half forward at the moment. Disposal numbers were beginning to pick up in the last fortnight (and it's probably worth saying the season ended a bit too quickly for Ned). Good short kick, great defensive pressure, and a gut runner. Really is just a few more goals (moving 10 to 15-25 range) and he's just consistency away from a 200+ game career as a damn valuable piece.
The chance of Ned ever being anything more than a bit-part piece in a midfield is remote. We should be exploring him as a bit part piece, seeing we do like having our midfielders double up as half forwards, but we seemingly are going to prioritise others. Schoenberg, Berry, Pedlar, Jones will probably get thrown in there again because of that explosive speed he has, Keays, Laird, Hately and I wouldn't sleep on Cook eventually being geared towards an inside switch, seeing how much of a blank canvas he is as a prospect. Effectively too many better prospects (on top of our senior players) for big midfield minutes in the queue already.
Don't underestimate the importance of the half-forward pressure role. I think he fits that role perfectly. He has the skills to hurt the opposition the other way and kick goals. Ideally he could have bursts on the ball as well. The more players that can be rotated through the centre the better.
Yeah agreed, starting to make that high half forward role his own. Has that general gut running capacity that made players like Tom Lynch and Chris Knights so successful at the role, but what's really impressive is his decision making, agility in traffic and short game skill, very Tyson Edwards like in this regard. His follow up is also very good. Pressure work also highly valuable, especially once he finds the balance between niggle and actually focusing no the game.
The game seems to have moved away from teams using a player in a dedicated tagger role, which is a shame for Ned as I think he'd suit it perfectly. Has the workrate to keep up with the best opposition players and the niggle to really get under their skin and annoy the hell out of them, as well as the composure in traffic to be able to be effective with his own possessions when he gets them.
Golumless
A bigger deal out west.
Nah, McHenry is just way too small to be an effective tagger, seeing he'd be giving up 10+ cm and 10+ kg on the players you want him tagging (the Petraccas, Bontempellis, Fyfes, Martins, Dangerfields of this world). Tenacity and effort can only get you so far when you're out of your weight division.
That's for the O'Connors/Keays of this world.
Last edited:
jackster83
The leader of the bunch.
He's better off making the ball his focus anyway. One of the few players we have who lowers the eyes when delivering the ball inside 50.
- Moderator
- #1,143
Thankfully you went with a number that tends to get held on to, I have 44 on the back of mine which has gone from Matt Crouch to Lachlan Murphy and now with Gollant.
I had it ages ago and went with 44 because I wanted to go with someone different so I went with Matt Crouch (back around 2015).
I've been asked a few times before "who's number 44", I got sick of telling people that it's a five year old Matt Crouch guensery so once as a joke I said it's for Tom Warhurst and got a blank stare
Last edited:
you could say you just liked Josh Jenkins so much you had his number twiceThankfully you went with a number that tends to get held on to, I have 44 on the back of mine which has gone from Matt Crouch to Lachlan Murphy and now with Gollant.
I had it ages ago and went with 44 because I wanted to go with someone different so I went with Matt Crouch (back around 2015).
I've been asked a few times before "who's number 44", I got sick of telling people that it's a five year old Matt Crouch guensery so once as a joke I said it's for Tom Warhurst and got a blank stare
Yep, usually the case that defensive mids need at least some resemblance of good height to perform an effective job on those types. Keays is a good example at about 185, which is probably the minimum height needed. Other examples include Greenwood, Drew, Steele, Yeo, Dunkley, Taranto, Crowley, Ben Jacobs etc
- Aug 6, 2021
- 5,709
- 10,299
- AFL Club
- Adelaide
He did mention in the midfield that he’s hoping to get a crack in the mids. I doubt he would say that publicly if it wasn’t on the cards internally.
Infuriatingly Mackay played games where he lowered eyes and hit targets. But for some reason in most games he ignored even trying and just dumped the ball long. But he could do it and did execute pretty well when he did.
Berry and Pedlar probably ahead of him if our rotation is deepened. Despite being behind in terms of fitness, they were preferred this year. Even ROC in his 2 games got midfield minutes ahead of Ned. I had hoped that they didn’t want to risk his obvious progression, but you seem to think it’s more likely he’s not yet in that thinking. Disappointing if it turns out that way.
- Jun 21, 2014
- 8,582
- 9,353
- AFL Club
- Adelaide
Didn't the club say recently that they're planning more midfield time for him?
