Liam Henry will see a role change in 2022, he is going to play further up the ground according to Fremantle senior coach Justin Longmuir.
Henry has previously played as a small forward at the Dockers, but will be moved onto a wing in 2022.
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Longmuir provided detail on the role for Henry & why the move has been made speaking on SportsdayWA this week.
“We’re going to try Liam Henry up the ground a little bit more, give him an opportunity to get up the ground & use his natural attributes & his running, ability to change angles with the ball & take the game on.”
“Probably through needs more than anything.”
“We played him as a deeper forward last year & probably didn’t suit his style of play & didn’t allow him to play to his strengths.”
‘He’ll play up on the wing, he’s trained there all pre-season.”
“He’s been really impressive with his intensity & his work rate at training.”
“I think it’s exciting up the ground he’ll be able to play to his strengths a little bit more & when he gets the ball in his hands things usually happen.” Longmuir said.
Henry averaged 9.0 Disposals, 2.2 Marks & 1.0 Tackle from 17 games in 2021.
Longmuir also confirmed Michael Walters would take leadership role in the forward line in 2022 but could see a shift onto a wing as his secondary role.
“He’ll play as a forward mainly, that will be his main role with flexibility to go onto the wing & midfield.”
“Late in the year he showed some promise on the wing, he’s a bit like Liam (Henry), his ability to change angles with the ball & set play up is really strong.” Longmuir added.
Source: Justin Longmuir SportsdayWA
Image credit: Fremantle
Fantasy Impact: Liam Henry averaged 37.8pts from 17 games in 2021, he scored a season high 61pts in Round 23 against St Kilda.
The move further up the ground for Henry in 2022 is likely to increase his fantasy output, his speed & ability to hit targets should set-up better inside forward 50 ball entries at the Dockers.
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Consistency playing on a wing could be an issue week to week accumulating disposals, opposition teams would certainly identify his threat of ball movement but he still would be a difficult 1 on 1 match-up.
Henry is a consideration for season long fantasy at Round 1, he should be best 22 at Fremantle, he likely has decent upside on his scoring output from 2021 but structurally could be a difficult piece to slot into a salary cap format with his initial price.
He would be a very late round option to take a flyer on in single season draft leagues, that decision to be made on targeting him should be based on his pre-season fantasy output.
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