Jack in attack a winner
CHRIS Scott has found his new Mr Fix It.
The role once designated for Mark Blicavs — fill a hole here, plug a gap there — appears now to belong to a player who has developed his game so rapidly in 2018 Scott is prepared to back him in seemingly under any circumstances. And why wouldn’t he? There are so many amazing stories when you look at Geelong’s defensive ensemble this year and yet Jack Henry could easily be the most remarkable of the lot. Less than 12 months after finishing 15th in the Cats’ VFL best-and-fairest playing off a wing and a flank, the rookie-listed youngster was thrust into the AFL line-up to cover for the absence of Harry Taylor and Lachie Henderson.
His form earned him a NAB Rising Star nomination in Round 7 and it is expected that he will soon be the beneficiary of a healthy new contract.
In recent weeks there has been speculation Henry might have been due for a rest given he has not missed a match since making his debut, in Round 2, but Scott and his coaching staff know how valuable the 19-year-old is to Geelong.
When Henderson forced his way back into the side for Saturday night’s clash with Melbourne, it was thought the veteran would have to play forward because, firstly, you couldn’t dare break up Geelong’s back six, and secondly, Tom Hawkins and the attacking end were desperate for reinforcement. But Scott had other ideas. His solution to the problem was to let Henderson do what he does best and go back, and throw Henry, that fresh-faced, “you say jump, I say how high” teenager, inside-50. The beauty of the move was that he not only drew a key defender because of his 191cm frame, he also provided priceless support at ground level.
He led the Cats with seven tackles and while it took until the last quarter for them to find their true rhythm in attack, his willingness to take his direct opponent away from the space allowed Hawkins — who finished with an equal career-high seven goals — more room to move near goal, which is what Scott would have wanted him to do.
The other obvious, if less important, bonus to using Henry forward was his ability to help out, albeit briefly, at the centre clearances and around the ground, thus mitigating the absence of a designated second ruckman. To that end Scott needs to be given praise for going with his gut and backing Rhys Stanley.
The easy thing to do would have been to look at Max Gawn and Melbourne’s numbers at clearances and say Stanley will need some help from a genuine second big man, but his belief in the former Saint has been paid off handsomely in the past six weeks and was again rewarded on Saturday.
Rightly or wrongly, the blame from some corners after a Geelong loss is planted firmly at the feet of Scott, but rare- ly is he credited when things go right. The Cats now sit just outside the eight on percentage — if Zach Tuohy’s shot at goal after the siren had missed, they would be a game and percentage out of the eight.
But he only found himself at that end of the ground because the coaches thought he could offer something different.
Scott said the idea to move the Irishman forward was Matthew Scarlett’s but, again, had it not come off, he would not have passed the buck, and the same people who have tried to argue he had no plan B would have criticised him for making too many alterations to a proven backline.
But on a night when Stan- ley succeeded not only in nullifying Gawn but claiming the points in their one-on-one duel, and when shifting the magnets around before and during the game accomplished precisely what they were moved for, the Geelong coach deserves a huge tick.
Of course, the players did their bit and took another step towards playing in September, and a new contender emerged for the role of second fiddle in attack to Hawkins.
But the coach shone equally, if not more brightly.
And while Henry showed he could be Geelong’s new Mr Fix it on the ground, off it Scott enhanced the view within the four walls of GMHBA Stadium that he already is.