YOUNG MENSCH IN FORM
IT takes all players different amounts of time to find their feet in the TAC Cup, and Geelong Falcons midfielder Baxter Mensch is no exception.
Like Sam Simpson two years ago, Mensch is seen as a late developer, but if he replicates some of his performances from recent weeks, it could easily see him leapfrog a host of potential draftees in the pecking order.
Having started the year as a small forward, he found the going a little tough in the opening two rounds of the season as his team struggled to find ways to kick a winning score.
But Mensch knew if he was given the chance to move into the middle of the ground, things could turn around.
After averaging 12 possessions in the first two games, he has since amassed tallies of 23, 34 and 35 disposals in consecutive matches, catching the eye of several recruiters at AFL level.
As was the case with Simpson, Mensch is the son of a former Geelong player: David Mensch, who played 158 games for the Cats and kicked 173 goals as a key forward.
He admitted he was still finding his feet in the elite junior competition, but said he was grateful for the opportunity to showcase his true value to the team as a gutrunning midfielder.
“I’m still getting used to TAC Cup footy because I only had a couple of games last year,” Mensch said.
“I’ve had a bit of time in the midfield so far but I’m just happy to be getting a gig in there and getting my hands on the ball.
“I’m loving the opportunity and the experience. I was playing more forward at the start of the year but now that I’m in the midfield it’s good, that’s where I see myself playing.
“The coaches are very happy with how I’m playing my role, so if they’re happy, I’m happy, and getting some wins on the board is good.”
Keen observers describe Mensch as an accumulator of the footy — a hard and tough on-baller in the mould of Fremantle’s Lachie Neale.
At 177cm he is significantly shorter than his father, but his capacity to get his hands on the ball and dish it out to teammates — he has had 48 handballs in his past two games — speaks volumes about his appetite for the contest.
David, who retired at the end of 2002 after playing in Geelong’s VFL premiership, says the upside to his son is what is most exciting.
“He played a couple of games last year as a bottomager and got a little taste of it but he had a really solid preseason this year,” David said.
“They started him off a forward flank but he has worked his way into the midfield and that is where he played all his juniors.
“He hasn’t had a problem getting his hands on the ball but it just took him a few games to get the tempo and a bit of a feel for it. Now he knows he can play this level and play well at this level, he is just getting better every game which is exciting.
“There is a lot of upside to him, I still think he has got a lot of improvement, but he is playing his role and the coaches are happy with him, and just having that confidence to play at this level now, he is really loving it and that is the main thing.”
The games tally of Mensch Sr gives the Cats first crack at picking Baxter if they see potential in him to improve even further beyond this season.
Geelong recruiting guru and list manager Stephen Wells has seen the progress the St Joseph’s College student has made and said like all potential father-son prospects he was certainly on the club’s radar.
“It’s great to see Baxter’s football is improving in the Falcons program and we’ll continue to monitor him over the rest of the year,” Wells said.
“We saw him play for the Falcons under-16s and we’ve been following him for quite a while but it is great to see that he is showing good form for the Falcons this year.
“Hopefully he gets an opportunity to play for the Vic Country team but if he doesn’t, just to continue to improve with the Geelong Falcons.”
The 17-year-old, who is keen to try to emulate the styles of similar players to him at AFL level, missed the initial Vic Country squad but said it was his next goal to reach.
“I try to model my game off Steven Cognilio and Tom Mitchell and try to get a bit more of the contested ball than I used to. I was kind of an outside player but I’m more inside now and in the middle of it,” he said.
“There is definitely a determination to get into that squad if I can but I’ve just got to keep that consistency up in the games ahead.
“I’ve just got to keep playing my structures well and playing my role, and keep getting my hands on the ball.”