Oppo Camp Oliver Henry (Traded to Geelong 2022)

[Jen2310]

He isn't exactly bashing the door down for selection when the coach describes him as something along the lines of, "if we don't get impact on the scoreboard from him, we don't get much else. AJ took his spot and doesn't look like giving it back."

Once he builds defensive aspect to his game, he'll get a spot back quick. He's gonna be one hell of a player in 12-18 months.

 

[sideswipe]

21.15 from 14 games is pretty good IMO. But we have no visibility on conversations and expectations from the coaching group.

McRae gave a decent amount of visibility with his comments today. 4 goals from his last 5 games with nothing much else (McRae's assessment) put him in the gun. The bloke who replaced him has done more.

 

[Vicky Park]

That was a fairly brutal public comment from the coach. Some tough love right there. I don’t recall Fly being quite as honest about any other players.

I assume it was in answer to a question? Also maybe reflects some frustration about a very talented kid who is not yet taking his chances.

 

[Pragmatic Shill]

Once he builds defensive aspect to his game, he'll get a spot back quick. He's gonna be one hell of a player in 12-18 months.

Man that's a hell of a long runway! It's a big ask to go from zero defensive aspect to having enough to please Fly - and to give him until 2024 is very, very generous.

AJ shows that second efforts come naturally to him. He also doesn't turn his back on a teammate who is getting manhandled and scruffed by opposition like North did to Ginnivan.

On SM-G981B using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Pragmatic Shill]

That was a fairly brutal public comment from the coach. Some tough love right there. I don’t recall Fly being quite as honest about any other players.

I assume it was in answer to a question? Also maybe reflects some frustration about a very talented kid who is not yet taking his chances.

Journo asked what Henry has to do to break back into the side.

On SM-G981B using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

Johnson at age 24 should be expected to have a more rounded game. That’s no slight on Henry…who is still developing.

 

[jonbe54]

I like it - the kid has to learn, no one expects him to be at the bottom of every pack but when it's his turn he must go.

 

[Jen2310]

Man that's a hell of a long runway! It's a big ask to go from zero defensive aspect to having enough to please Fly - and to give him until 2024 is very, very generous.

AJ shows that second efforts come naturally to him. He also doesn't turn his back on a teammate who is getting manhandled and scruffed by opposition like North did to Ginnivan.

On SM-G981B using BigFooty.com mobile app

I'm not saying it will take him that long, but as a player as a whole, I reckon when he is 21, he'll be hitting his straps. Gonna be a sight. If he can combine defensive stuff to his talents... look out.
Ollie probably needs another pre-season to get fitter and stronger.

We can't compare a newly turned 20 year old to a almost 25 year old who has had more experience to the physical aspects and state league. Ollie will get there.

 

[Jen2310]

Johnson at age 24 should be expected to have a more rounded game. That’s no slight on Henry…who is still developing.

Yup, Johnson is also physically developed almost 25 year old. Ollie is still in development stage. There is no comparison.

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

Yup, Johnson is also physically developed almost 25 year old. Ollie is still in development stage. There is no comparison.

Except for their freakish talents

 

[swoop42]

He isn't exactly bashing the door down for selection when the coach describes him as something along the lines of, "if we don't get impact on the scoreboard from him, we don't get much else. AJ took his spot and doesn't look like giving it back."

Johnson wasn't exactly bashing the door down up forward in the VFL upon his return from injury either and was even switched to defence in one game if I recall.

Henry has kicked 7 goals and averaged 16 disposals across his last 2 VFL games and that's entirely comparable to the output that won Johnson his elevation.

People forget Johnson will be 25 in October compared to Henry who has just turned 20 so he'd want to further ahead at this point of his career.

Still it's not even a question of one or the other in my mind, that was the whole point of my post.

For a forward who has only gone goalless twice in 13 games (one of those it was 0.3), has produced some eye catching moments and all within a season where a single goal has been the difference in many games I feel his performances have matched the expectations of him as a second year player.

While I'm sure McRae showing him some tough love is only being done with the purpose of making him better it's still a balancing act.

To me it would be a disaster of list management if such an elite young talent in Henry is now questioning how he fits in the team moving forward when he should be left in no doubt he's very much wanted and part of our future.

 

[Jen2310]

Except for their freakish talents

Of course. Apart from that.
Although Ollie has a talent and ceiling not like anyone else on our list bar nick. Has star written all over him.

 

[sideswipe]

Johnson wasn't exactly bashing the door down up forward in the VFL upon his return from injury either and was even switched to defence in one game if I recall.

Henry has kicked 7 goals and averaged 16 disposals across his last 2 VFL games and that's entirely comparable to the output that won Johnson his elevation.

People forget Johnson will be 25 in October compared to Henry who has just turned 20 so he'd want to further ahead at this point of his career.

Still it's not even a question of one or the other in my mind, that was the whole point of my post.

For a forward who has only gone goalless twice in 13 games (one of those it was 0.3), has produced some eye catching moments and all within a season where a single goal has been the difference in many games I feel his performances have matched the expectations of him as a second year player.

While I'm sure McRae showing him some tough love is only being done with the purpose of making him better it's still a balancing act.

To me it would be a disaster of list management if such an elite young talent in Henry is now questioning how he fits in the team moving forward when he should be left in no doubt he's very much wanted and part of our future.

Well, he coughed up his spot and the new incumbent hasn't given him a chance to get it back. Tough stories at selection are a hallmark of good teams. That's footy.

 

[pablo disco bar]

Ffs just play him

 

[gouki88]

Ash Johnson and Oliver Henry AFL Stats Comparison

Ash Johnson and Oliver Henry AFL Stats Comparison.

www.footywire.com

It makes sense to me that AJ gets the nod. Just offers a bit more at this stage.

Not a knock on Henry. He has serious talent. When we can play both these guys + Elliott and Checkers, we'll be very dangerous

 

[Dynamics]

Fly said on SEN this week that in the majority of cases, if he says something publicly about a player, it mirrors the conversations held within the club.

Take that with as many grains as salt as your doctor directs, but my assumption is that Fly wouldn't say anything to the media that he hasn't said to Ollie.

Reality is that you don't get games on talent alone under Fly's which, which is exactly as it should be.

 

[nahnah]

That was a fairly brutal public comment from the coach. Some tough love right there. I don’t recall Fly being quite as honest about any other players.

I assume it was in answer to a question? Also maybe reflects some frustration about a very talented kid who is not yet taking his chances.

He’s been brutal on both Henry and Macrae. It started last year when he first got the job and said the first year players got games despite offering no tackling and pressure. I like it tbh, will make them better players in the future

 

[jathanas]

That was a fairly brutal public comment from the coach. Some tough love right there. I don’t recall Fly being quite as honest about any other players.

I assume it was in answer to a question? Also maybe reflects some frustration about a very talented kid who is not yet taking his chances.

I assume Ollie's relationship with the coach is trust based.

The sky is the limit for the kid and the coach/club is crystal clear about what's required. If Ollie has the right character he will take these comments as they're intended. Everyone is allowed to feel sorry for themselves a little, AFL players included, but if I wanted to be elite I'd choose to be in an environment that held me to a high standard. Ollie can get back on the horse and work his butt off.

 

[Jen2310]

I assume Ollie's relationship with the coach is trust based.

The sky is the limit for the kid and the coach/club is crystal clear about what's required. If Ollie has the right character he will take these comments as they're intended. Everyone is allowed to feel sorry for themselves a little, AFL players included, but if I wanted to be elite I'd choose to be in an environment that held me to a high standard. Ollie can get back on the horse and work his butt off.

Ollie is the latter, going by this: I think he'll take this as a learning experience.

While he could be forgiven for feeling hard done by, Henry believes the tough love approach has helped accelerate his development in just his second season.

"The year itself I've been rapt with, even though there's been so many adversities in my own growth. But I think overall, as a player and as a person, I've grown a whole heap in comparison to any other year. If I stay on course with what I'm doing, it should only be a matter of time before I start to reap the rewards of what I'm doing," he said.

"I think if you do get dropped, the mentality shouldn’t be, 'Oh why?’. It should be, 'What's next?'. Most of the times it's happened to me, I've almost felt a little bit of relief because I've known what I needed to go and work on. I've come back better for it. I don’t think there should be any unsavoury feelings against the coach for doing that. In my case, it’s a good learning opportunity."

'Don't psych yourself out': How Henry banished his mental demons

Young Pie believes the tough love approach helped him turn in a game-changing performance

www.afl.com.au

 

[Vicky Park]

I’m a Pies watcher, not an AFL watcher, so I’m wondering how Ollie compares to other forwards at a similar age/stage of development? I suspect that he compares very well.

We Pies fans have been so desperate for natural young forwards for so long, and now that we have a few (Ginni included) we may have unrealistic expectations about how quickly they become established.

 

[Jen2310]

I’m a Pies watcher, not an AFL watcher, so I’m wondering how Ollie compares to other forwards at a similar age/stage of development? I suspect that he compares very well.

We Pies fans have been so desperate for natural young forwards for so long, and now that we have a few (Ginni included) we may have unrealistic expectations about how quickly they become established.

If we compare him now v him 12 months ago; his development has been massive. We just have to let him grow. Everyone develops at different rates no matter how we we may wish it to be.
I think he is tracking along nicely. Its a tough position he plays.

 

[jathanas]

I’m a Pies watcher, not an AFL watcher, so I’m wondering how Ollie compares to other forwards at a similar age/stage of development? I suspect that he compares very well.

We Pies fans have been so desperate for natural young forwards for so long, and now that we have a few (Ginni included) we may have unrealistic expectations about how quickly they become established.

Unrealistic expectations might exist in the wider AFL fanbase but it's not something that we encounter on BF.

 

[Jen2310]

Doesn't help that he was our highest draft pick (minus Nick) since Stevo (so therefore since...de goey in 2014) who is gone so people place all expectation on him. But we just to give him time, we have seen enough to know he'll be a star. We just now have to watch him keep developing.

 

[Kappa]

Doesn't help that he was our highest draft pick (minus Nick) since Stevo (so therefore since...de goey in 2014) who is gone so people place all expectation on him. But we just to give him time, we have seen enough to know he'll be a star. We just now have to watch him keep developing.

Far too early to say he'll be a star.

He has potential, that's about it at this stage.

 

[Jen2310]

Far too early to say he'll be a star.

He has potential, that's about it at this stage.

Ok, potential to be a star. But yes, its early to say.