Lifelong Geelong fan Jack Henry making a name for himself in Cats defence
JACK Henry thought he’d missed out on his AFL dream when he was overlooked in last year’s draft. Everything changed when the lifelong Cats fan received a phone call from Stephen Wells.
Geelong
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JACK Henry remembers being blinded by the sun.
The Geelong defender’s timing and reactions were off as he allowed Hawthorn opponent Ryan Schoenmakers to “sit up pretty easily at the ball”.
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A few minutes earlier on that Easter Monday “Jumping Jack” had suffered a head clash in the Cats’ backline.
“I actually don’t know who it was with,” Henry, 19, said.
“I was pretty dazed, but I got up and played for a few minutes. I’d never been concussed or knocked out before, so I could tell something was wrong.
“My peripheral vision was a bit blurry and a bit dark. I remember looking into the sun and thinking, ‘Geez, why is the sun making me have blurry vision?’.”
Henry came to the bench in the second quarter in the Round 2 epic and didn’t return.
It was a forgettable debut, soured further as Jarryd Roughead out-marked undersized opponent Zach Guthrie in the final quarter to become the matchwinner.
Boy, could Cats coach Chris Scott have used his 191cm first-gamer.
But what has transpired since has simply been unforgettable.
With Harry Taylor injured, lifelong Cats fan Henry has slotted into a key defensive post with unassuming surety.
Henry is the Cats’ No. 1 intercept marker and averages 6.2 intercept possessions per game.
Today, against Collingwood at the MCG, Taylor will return yet Henry’s position remains safe.
They will share the backline for the first time.
Scott swiftly afforded Henry the licence to roll around the defensive arc, picking off opposition entries and helping out teammates in sticky one-on-one contests.
“We have a few guys back there that are really strong in the air and we like them to back themselves,” Scott said.
“Go for it until you get out-marked a few times and then you’ve probably got to go back to the basics a bit more.
“We’ve got one of the best defenders of all time, Matthew Scarlett, on our coaching staff (and) Scarlo in particularly was a really attacking defender.”
It is no fluke Henry is adept in the air.
“I worked a fair bit over the pre-season with my intercept marking,” Henry said.
“That’s the strength that the coaches thought I could bring to the game.”
All of this off a limited pre-season as Henry battled a tendon issue and only played a couple of VFL matches at the back-end.
On the last Saturday in late November 2016, Henry was lying under the sun when he became blinded by happiness.
Henry was “a little bit disappointed” at being overlooked at the national draft the night before, when Cats recruiter Stephen Wells suddenly dialled in.
“I was down at the beach and got a call from Wellsy. He said that Geelong were keen to take me in the rookie draft,” Henry said.
“So I got on to my manager and got him to tell other clubs I probably wasn’t that interested in going.
“Being a Geelong boy I was pretty excited. I said I don’t want to go interstate, I’ve got a nice, close family down here.”
He was also nice and close to work, living 1km from Kardinia Park — although he drives to training — and the same facility was also the base of his junior club, St Mary’s.
Henry claimed best-and-fairests in two St Mary’s premiership seasons and developed as a forward last year.
Athletics looked his go as a junior, where his parents also excelled. Henry placed third at national level in decathlon, with the high jump his forte.
But the kid who attended the MCG for the Cats’ three premierships in 2007, 2009 and 2011 realised his passion was for leaping over opponents and not crossbars.
Henry was nine in 2007 and remembers asking his dad and brother at halftime if the Cats had won — they led Port Adelaide by 52 points.
“I was still naive as a kid. I probably didn’t appreciate it as much as the older fans would’ve,” Henry said.
“I loved Jimmy (Bartel). He was always good to watch and lived at the end of the street so I saw him about here and there.
“It’s so cool just being around the club now and even (playing with) Joel (Selwood). Watching him growing up he was one of my favourite players.”
The local is set to be rewarded with a new Cats contract after helping dampen the influence of forwards including Robbie Gray, Jack Darling and Gary Rohan this year.
Under the Friday night lights in Round 7, Henry claimed 11 marks and polled coaches’ votes. It was more than any GWS player and one shy of game-leader Tom Stewart.
On the Monday, defensive coach Matthew Scarlett phoned Henry to tell him he had received the Rising Star nomination.
Henry hoped Harry’s return wouldn’t spell trouble at team selection.
“I’m not sure how (it’s) going to look — hopefully I’ll be able to stay in the side ... Harry’s a great player so who knows.”
But with Scott’s support, Jumping Jack was safe.
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Originally published as Lifelong Geelong fan Jack Henry making a name for himself in Cats defence
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