Welcome Welcome to Hawthorn : Pick 7, Cam MacKenzie, extends to 2026!

[Strapping Young Lad]

 

[lyger]

Time for an ambassador deal!

 

[toomanysquibs]

His body shape has come a long way in 12 mths!

View attachment 2033966

Shades of a developing Nat Fyfe. That's some serious size pretty damn quick. Similar height too, just plays differently.

 

[HoldingThe Ball]

Absolutely dominating the opening of the Box Hill game.

7 possessions in opening 4 minutes.

A mile above in class.

 

[suedehead]

Absolutely dominating the opening of the Box Hill game.

7 possessions in opening 4 minutes.

A mile above in class.

He wants his spot back. Puts Ward and Finn on notice today.

Sent from my SM-F741B using Tapatalk

 

[humid hawk]

Absolutely dominating the opening of the Box Hill game.

7 possessions in opening 4 minutes.

A mile above in class.

Is he starting in the guts? Really keen to see how he goes with centre square responsibility

 

[TylerDurden]

11 that quarter.

 

[indianhawks]

He was in middle a lot after the injury to Day. I think he did fairly well

 

[SSSSSS]

This kid is going to be a star when he builds AFL level endurance.

Needs to find a way to get on the end of some easy cheap touches. Next step is going from being a 15 touch player to a 20 touch player.

 

[TylerDurden]

Only 11 touches today.

 

[flamin_heck]

Only 11 touches today.

He missed a bit of time off the ground with the head knock, once again I liked what I saw though- had some really clever well weighted kicks to running team mates, and seems to nail most of his set shots at goal. As others have said a couple more pre seasons to build his fitness and the rest of the league will really sit up and take notice of him. Once he has the ability to find the ball more mids like him that get the numbers AND consistently use it well are worth their weight in gold.

 

[daniel23]

Only 11 touches today.

Wasn't his best game, seemed to be on the bench a fair bit after that hit.

 

[humid hawk]

Wasn't his best game, seemed to be on the bench a fair bit after that hit.

To be honest that was an absolutely dirty hit. He got smacked once in the air then hit his head pretty hard on the ground.

The fact that he willed himself up straight afterwards shows the mettle of the kid.

 

[SSSSSS]

Only 11 touches today.

Felt like he was more influential than the stats would suggest.

Was in everything at the start of the game but seems to be a pattern with Cam who makes a great first impression but seems to fade out of games.

Just needs to build that tank.

 

[Simon_Nesbit]

The clubs tried a couple of ways to get more out of him physically - we've played him long in the 1st quarter, then plenty of bench rest after; we've kept him hidden away in a flank and 'unleashed' later in games; we've played him as sub; and subbed him out early. We've tried extra rotations/bench time to spread his game-time through a match; we've even left him to burn away with similar rotations to Worpel/Newcombe....

So far, nothing has really worked consistently. Cam can only seem to play midfield at an elite level for about 20-30 minutes of game time. Average for another 20-30 minutes, and anything more is him just jogging around desperately trying to avoid getting exposed. It might just be a pre-season or two, building up endurance to that 80 minutes of running AFL midfielders need to cover - or it may be Cam just isn't that kind of 'run all day' mid, and we need to find a more permanent role elsewhere on the field.

We have such depth across HFF, it might be time to embrace that depth and lean into the excitement of increased CBA rotations (Moore, MacDonald, Ginnivan, Watson all capable of spending time in the middle IMO)

 

[toomanysquibs]

To be honest that was an absolutely dirty hit. He got smacked once in the air then hit his head pretty hard on the ground.

The fact that he willed himself up straight afterwards shows the mettle of the kid.

It was one of a few dog shots from that mob. We've beaten them up on the scoreboard recently, but they're holding onto the idea that they can beat us up proper for whatever reason.

Happens in particular close to finals when crap teams who can't make it try to kid themselves they're relevant.

 

[flinchfree]

The clubs tried a couple of ways to get more out of him physically - we've played him long in the 1st quarter, then plenty of bench rest after; we've kept him hidden away in a flank and 'unleashed' later in games; we've played him as sub; and subbed him out early. We've tried extra rotations/bench time to spread his game-time through a match; we've even left him to burn away with similar rotations to Worpel/Newcombe....

So far, nothing has really worked consistently. Cam can only seem to play midfield at an elite level for about 20-30 minutes of game time. Average for another 20-30 minutes, and anything more is him just jogging around desperately trying to avoid getting exposed. It might just be a pre-season or two, building up endurance to that 80 minutes of running AFL midfielders need to cover - or it may be Cam just isn't that kind of 'run all day' mid, and we need to find a more permanent role elsewhere on the field.

We have such depth across HFF, it might be time to embrace that depth and lean into the excitement of increased CBA rotations (Moore, MacDonald, Ginnivan, Watson all capable of spending time in the middle IMO)

Mope much after wins?
Don't worry, you're not alone on here.

 

[Simon_Nesbit]

Mope much after wins?
Don't worry, you're not alone on here.

Not moping at all. Very happy with the win, and with MacKenzie's performances to date.

I've got CMacK firmly rated as one of the best young onballers in the league. Just pointing out most of his current shortcomings are stamina/endurance related; and the club is actively working on ways to improve his output.

 

[Bugs1977]

Have to feel for the kid on the weekend. Was really looking like he was about to have that breakout game after Will went down early and then those dirty pricks got him with a dog shot. Felt he was controlling the tempo of the game nicely up until he had to go off for the HIA so it's just a pity he didn't get the chance to fully step into the void Will left for a full game. Obviously he came back on but you can't begrudge him for not being 100% after a dog shot like that.

 

[Kuuz]

Re the weekend's game, he played a really good Q1 - but the whack really took him out of the game. Ended up with 66 percent gametime, which was one of the lowest.

In terms of overall impact this year, he is being played all over the park - from wing, to half back to half forward to mid. Mitch clearly likes his kicking, but he's still so early on in his development. He just has had to play where he's needed & shown good use as a link up utility. Better than others we've tried like Wardy, Neddy Long & Hust.

Another pre-season will do him a lot of good. Just good we're getting games into him, but if Day is likely out this week, could be a good opportunity to up his centre mid time.

 

[reubski23]

I like him - plays so much like Mitch that it is not funny! Great skills, feels like he creates space out of nothing. Just needs to find a way to get his on ball.

 

[Ka Norkers]

what a fabulous game by the lad today. Really looked the part in the middle, silky skills and hard at it.
amazing draft in 2022, with Mackenzie and Weddle absolute jets, and I have a suspicion HH will have the year many think he is capable of in 2025.

 

[theiaofseed]

Tracking very similar to Butters, if he had the same trajectory I'd be pretty pleased.

 

[matey]

Liked his game he looked a lot more comfortable out there yesterday. Once he has 100% belief in himself and with that first natural sidestep he has ……. will be a player!

 

[humid hawk]

Another year in the gym will do him wonders too.

He threw himself into every contest yesterday but there were a couple of times when opposition players were able to walk through his tackles.

Another preseason will fix that up. He's going to be a star!

 

[TylerDurden]

23 touches.
Looks so sure with the footy.