Player Watch Ned McHenry

Jun 7, 2011
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Mount Gambier
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I don't think you've been watching close enough or you have a fixed view because he's just about the best player on our list for lowering his eyes and hitting up our leading forwards, a fact not missed by Justin Reid yesterday in his press release, a reason we were so attracted to Jordan Dawson.

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.
 
Jun 7, 2011
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Mount Gambier
AFL Club
Adelaide
Sounds like we might be continuing on with McHenry in the forward line. I'm kinda hoping he plays more in the middle in 2022.

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
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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.

Didn't the club say recently that they're planning more midfield time for him?
 
Jun 7, 2011
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Mount Gambier
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Didn't the club say recently that they're planning more midfield time for him?

Not sure. I was commenting based on Moogle gleaning differently from whatever he heard. I hope you’re right though. At a minimum it means a deeper rotation. Reckon he could be really suffocating at the stoppage but then set up a damaging possession change.
 
Nov 6, 2003
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even though Ned was drafted as a midfielder?
Yes, why would you not use the elite running strengths of a player ? .....I think people's POV is rooted in what they see a player was in the last couple of years ...not what he's becoming
 
Sep 19, 2010
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Yes, why would you not use the elite running strengths of a player ? .....I think people's POV is rooted in what they see a player was in the last couple of years ...not what he's becoming

Mids need more than being an elite runner, Ned has a long way to go if he wants to be a full time mid. His attributes suit the forward half
 

DaKids

All Australian
May 18, 2021
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Not sure why you’d want to put any player in a pre prepared box. They’ll have lots of practice games between themselves and the scheduled pre season games. Whoever is playing best in a particular role will get the job.

Surely that’s the way to go isn’t it.
 

MarcusP2

Brownlow Medallist
Sep 21, 2009
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I think this is partly due to the disconnect between the recruiters and the coaches having different ideas
A bit like we drafted Jones as a midfielder but he is now playing in the backlines
Because he was no good as a midfielder.

Anyway, having players all over the ground that can play in a stoppage seems like a worthwhile objective to me. Even if Ned isn't attending many CBs there are plenty of stoppages in the forward half he could play 'midfield' in.
 
Nov 6, 2003
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Mids need more than being an elite runner, Ned has a long way to go if he wants to be a full time mid. His attributes suit the forward half
We've lacked 2-way runners in our midfield ....that & a preparedness to play defensive footy and harass the opposition mids with hard tackling

We tend to only look at Mids offensive games
 
We've lacked 2-way runners in our midfield ....that & a preparedness to play defensive footy and harass the opposition mids with hard tackling

We tend to only look at Mids offensive games
Yes.

Nicks has expressed this.

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Sep 19, 2010
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Ned's an endurance beast. His running is not one of his deficiencies.

I don't see how anybody could say that Ned looks like a natural forward.

I didn't say Ned is a natural forward or that running is a deficiency. High HF means he can attend stoppages but start forward and push up. He's done very little to date to suggest he deserves starting mid rotations.
 
Sep 19, 2010
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We've lacked 2-way runners in our midfield ....that & a preparedness to play defensive footy and harass the opposition mids with hard tackling

We tend to only look at Mids offensive games

I see it a bit differently. Mids defending was an issue last year but not as much this year. Laird and Keays are two way runners and Shoenberg has a good work rate. Sloane is a liability though these days.

Kicking inside 50 is one of the main issues, and then having a matchup for tall, powerful mids like Oliver and Bont who seem to kill us every time. Ned doesn't solive either of these.
 
Nov 6, 2003
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Kicking inside 50 is one of the main issues, and then having a matchup for tall, powerful mids like Oliver and Bont who seem to kill us every time. Ned doesn't solive either of these.
Yep ...agree with these thoughts ....and a contested marking mid certainly would help
 
May 29, 2011
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I didn't say Ned is a natural forward or that running is a deficiency. High HF means he can attend stoppages but start forward and push up. He's done very little to date to suggest he deserves starting mid rotations.
Aside from his pressure and evasiveness, I don't think he has qualities that suit playing as a forward. His kicking lacks penetration, his set shot kicking is mediocre at best and he doesn't have the explosive pace you want in a small forward his size. His lack of hurt factor is also exacerbated by our other small forwards being very underwhelming (Murph, Rowe). We don't have a good mix in there. As it stands right now, we'd have to be in the running for worst small forward brigade in the entire league.

I wouldn't be writing off McHenry as a midfielder because he sucked in that role when he was still raw. He seems to have adjusted to the speed of AFL so I'd at least be trying him in the role we drafted him to play.
 
Jun 7, 2011
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Mount Gambier
AFL Club
Adelaide
Because he was no good as a midfielder.

Anyway, having players all over the ground that can play in a stoppage seems like a worthwhile objective to me. Even if Ned isn't attending many CBs there are plenty of stoppages in the forward half he could play 'midfield' in.

strategically our full stoppage rotation roll down to attend those stoppages. We don't have any hang back to create a defensive structure, it's all guns blazing at the contest.
 
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