I regard this bloke as one of our most important players and how his season goes will have a big effect on how the team goes.
He had a poor start to 2014 ...largely due to an interrupted preparation, but if he can attack 2015 from the start it may give us a significant boost.
Looks like he's resigned to playing forward....but he would also be amongst our best defenders if needed.
http://www.carltonfc.com.au/news/2014-12-30/lachie-at-home-up-forward
Best at CHB but will play forward unless we get injuries.....which we will...
Best at CHB but will play forward unless we get injuries.....which we will...
CHB all year would be a big plus, but we will need him forward a fair bit of the time I reckon.
Unless Levi and Jones step up another notch or two. :)
And, of course there will always be an injury factor.
Rowe and Jamison locks as key defenders with Jaksch, White and rookie Fields lining up as 3rd talls.
Henderson, Jones and Casboult probably start as the key talls up forward with Jaksch a very real option there also in that group. He and hendo probably do swap a bit depending on circumstances.
Hendo will play forward all year.
Last year, we found Rowe.
This year, we lost Waite.
Hendo was already playing forward, why would he switch back to defense now given the above??
Hendo will play forward all year.
Last year, we found Rowe.
This year, we lost Waite.
Hendo was already playing forward, why would he switch back to defense now given the above??
Although I really like him at CHB I agree, he will only go back if we have injuries or a slump in form with our defenders. He is clearly our best KPF prospect atm, IMO.
Best at CHB but is our best forward and will play there the whole year unless something rediculous happens in a particular game or throughout the season.
Rowe has stepped up and I think it's time Henderson steps another level and takes on the responsibility of being the man up forward. Waite has gone so he is now the just about the most senior tall down there.
The whole mentality from supporters and maybe the club of him being a better defender although true, frustrates me as it is a bit of a cop out and for a former top ten pick it's time to become a really serious player and our season might hinge on his ability to become an A grade tall forward this year.
We need him forward but if he delivers what he did last year, he needs to go back. He may as well put on an opposition jumper otherwise
I'm not expecting Henderson to be an 80 goal KPP.
But if he can be 1 of 3-4 who can all kick 2+ a game (40-50 for season) and share the load around evenly amongst all forwards he will be doing his job.
I can only ever see him going back to defense if we are in dire straights during a game.
If two of Jones, Casboult and Watson are playing well, I would play Henderson back and use Jamison as the third tall defender. However, I suspect that we will need Henderson as a forward.
To be honest, if we can afford him forward, then fine. I would never say "Leave him forward" if it become necessary for him to play back. If the forwards are fit and the defenders are not, then back he should go.
His ability to play at either end is not going to be less important, just because we hope he will be forward for most of the time. It will come to pass that the ability to play elsewhere may be the difference between winning and losing. Up to our coaching staff to recognize when this comes to pass.
As DJC mentioned, we now have some options. if Jones, Casboult, et al are doing the job, then they shouldn't be shunted. However, it will be quite a surprise to have all of the talls fit and in form at the same time.
I'm not expecting Henderson to be an 80 goal KPP.
But if he can be 1 of 3-4 who can all kick 2+ a game (40-50 for season) and share the load around evenly amongst all forwards he will be doing his job.
I can only ever see him going back to defense if we are in dire straights during a game.
I'm thinking along the same lines Amers. He will only go back if we need the extra tall in defence, and a forward is killing us there. I think he plays better as a forward than a defender. Especially when he is on a lead, he is hard to stop. CHF is probably his best position.
We need him forward but if he delivers what he did last year, he needs to go back. He may as well put on an opposition jumper otherwise
It certainly is the silly season at the moment.
Someone was arguing with Lods in another thread about how Waite was a gun player who is anything but inconsistent (Really? if he is anything he is inconsistent!) Now we are saying that Henderson was next to useless for most of last year.
Forget about the obvious lack of pre-season and lets look at the pure numbers.
Waite - 16 games, 29 goals 17 behinds.
Henderson - 17 games, 28 goals 14 behinds.
Pretty similar!
Look at some other important indicators of a key forward.
Waite - 41 Marks inside 50, 23 1%ers, and 10 goal assists
Henderson - 38 Marks inside 50, 35 1%ers, and 13 goal assists
So Waite is a player that we can't afford to lose (apparantly)
and
Henderson is a player that may as well be playing for the opposition he was that rubbish.
I think a few people have been imbibing a little too much this silly season.
So Waite is a player that we can't afford to lose (apparently)
and
Henderson is a player that may as well be playing for the opposition he was that rubbish.
Quite a few folk have argued the opposite ::)
The notion of the "Swingman" is misleading when it is represented as a positive for a clubs list. For an individual it's a good thing to have on your CV but any club reliant on a swingman has deficiencies on their list that won't win a flag. Swingmen are great if you are blessed with a full compliment of KPP's because you are odds on to win a flag (Hawthorn 2013) but for most clubs a settled line up forward and back would suffice. SOS was one of the greatest swingmen of all time, but it's a big call to switch the full back of the century to full forward even when he was capable of kicking huge bags. FWIW we never won flags in those moments.
The notion of the "Swingman" is misleading when it is represented as a positive for a clubs list. For an individual it's a good thing to have on your CV but any club reliant on a swingman has deficiencies on their list that won't win a flag. Swingmen are great if you are blessed with a full compliment of KPP's because you are odds on to win a flag (Hawthorn 2013) but for most clubs a settled line up forward and back would suffice. SOS was one of the greatest swingmen of all time, but it's a big call to switch the full back of the century to full forward even when he was capable of kicking huge bags. FWIW we never won flags in those moments.
FWIW, we 'swung' SOS onto a wing in the '95 GF to take care of Ablett who was moved up there because he couldn't get a touch at FF. He couldn't get a touch on the wing either. SOS destroyed him.
SOS destroyed everyone. He was after all, SOS.
Forget about the obvious lack of pre-season and lets look at the pure numbers.
Waite - 16 games, 29 goals 17 behinds.
Henderson - 17 games, 28 goals 14 behinds.
Pretty similar!
More than half his goals came in 3 games.
Many against sides below us.
I wasn't advocating Hendo be tossed anyway so unless you're trying to say that Hendo should be playing as a defender, I'm not sure what you're saying?
I'm not sure what you're saying?
Just that the opinions on this forum vary dramatically and go so far as to be completely contradictory.
It amuses me.
I don't think he's good enough as a forward and looks to be a natural defender but I hope he proves me wrong.
I don't think he's good enough as a forward and looks to be a natural defender but I hope he proves me wrong.
I think that's a fair call. Hasn't to date been a real burden to opposition defences on a weekly basis and has probably best displayed his wares in defence when things have gotten tight although even these efforts have been sapped since 2013 as the MC tried to exploit opposition match ups by believing in the swingman ideology. If Levi and Liam can get busy down forward with Jaksch as an option to "swing", maybe Hendo would be better served down back playing his natural game.