What he lacks in pace he makes up for in smarts. He is also strong in the air. I am another who is very interested/invested in how Manzie develops this coming season. I am of the impression that he will surprise many people with his class.
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Strange thing with Menzie for me is how much more he fumbles in seniors games to match scenario training. He is quite clean at training and relaxed. I wondered if he suffers a bit of nerves still that will start improving and elevate his game a bit more
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For some reason I thought he came from SA and was a fair bit more experienced, but heās coming out of the Tassie league which is not the same level as other state leagues and still mostly a kid. Heās got plenty of upside, plenty to learn, should get a lot out of working and competing with Gresham
Forward
DRAFT ANALYSIS: āMenzie is an exciting, raw small forward who has some top-level traits but plenty more to develop." - Peter Williams
Jye Menzie is a raw AFL Draft prospect who is one of those players that just catches the eye. Not consistently, or quite the entire package just yet, Menzie has terrific forward craft, footy IQ and goal sense inside 50, with plenty of X-factor and upside for the future. He has not been able to piece together too many four-quarter performances this season, but has nonetheless done enough with North Hobart in the TSL to earn a late call-up to the Tasmanian Draft Combine.
STRENGTHS:
- Goal sense
- X-factor
- Footy IQ
- Forward craft
- Upside
- Scoreboard impact
IMPROVEMENTS:
- Consistency
- Versatility
- Off-ball impact
Menzie is arguably best known for his match-winning goal last year in the NAB League against Bendigo Pioneers. He just has that match-winning ability and is one of the players you would trust with the ball in his hands taking a clutch set shot or the last kick of the game to win a match. He is one of those players that you can picture playing at the top level be it next year or in future years, simply because he has that X-factor about him. It is not always consistent, and he has a lot of areas to work on, but in terms of his forward 50 ability, he is so damaging with ball in hand and a handful for any opposition defender, including those senior players he ran rings around in 2020 for the Demons.
With a keen goal sense, Menzie is able to kick multiple goals in a quarter and either haul his side back into a contest, or break open said contest with a blistering purple patch. The biggest knock on him is his consistency, as he can be quiet for long patches - as most small forwards can - but it is just about closing that gap between his best and his worst. Nearly every game he does something special, and whilst he does not need to pull out the tricks every match, it is just getting his hands on the ball more often. Playing deep in the forward line for a young side that itself was up and down at times, Menzie would have to push up the ground to win the ball on the wing, which whilst he would be able to win it, needed to have greater impact. Once inside 50, it was hard to contain the exciting forward because he was just smarter than those around him.
His football IQ when the ball is in his area is very good, and he can think through situations quicker than most. It would have been great to see him play more permanently up the ground to increase his versatility and perhaps get him into the game more, but he has no problems doing so when anywhere in the vicinity of goals. One that will no doubt win goal of the year at some point in his career, Menzie could snap them from left or right pockets or on the run under pressure. Given he was able to hold his own at senior level, it would have been even better to see him perform at Under 18s in the NAB League where no doubt he could have pushed into the midfield some more. As a whole, while it might seem he has plenty to work on, at times he was one of the most exciting draft prospects from the Apple Isle and his best is good enough to play at the top level.
DRAFT PROJECTION: Rookie
As a raw prospect and a late call-up to the AFL Draft combine, the Tasmanian talent is viewed as a rookie prospect at this stage. Menzie is the quintessential rookie prospect in the sense that he has those traits that catch the eye, but also still needs to round out his game as a whole. To earn a combine invite shows he is still in consideration from AFL clubs, and considering his upside, he looms as a low risk, high reward selection at the back-end of the draft for a club needing an incredibly talented small forward.
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Iām heading to training tomorrow morning Iāll be there around 9am. Iāll take some pics but my report wonāt be as good as others
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Yep, he struggled on ANZAC Day in front of the big crowd, but was much better in games later in the year. I hope he can take a big step forward next year.
He is from Tassie, but he moved to SA to play, which is where we drafted him from.
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Compared to typical recovery, fair comment, but doesnāt mean he wonāt come good. My son had a 2 year recovery from an ACL. Was absolutely diligent in all exercises (his physio said heād seen less application from some AFL players). He had a ācyclops lesionā (very minor follow up op to remove), and later some unexplained pain. His surgeon was Julian Feller, who said that in some ACL recoveries thereās pain where there is just no explanation for it, and that can complicate recovery. He started playing footy last yr, run a half marathon, etc, routinely does gym leg sessions. heās in the middle of a physiotherapy degree himself.
Having a few years back done a big syndesmosis, and then the acl , heās got inside knowledge on at least some fairly major injury recoveries!
Jayden may have long term difficulty, or he may end up pretty much 100%. No point worrying about which it will be quite yet IMO.
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I think weāve got an absolute ripper in Menzie. He just knows how to do smart football stuff.
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He gets to the right spots but at the moment he doesnāt convert enough half chances. I know heās young so hopefully he starts being that sort of players.
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Begs the question, does Humbleās post need to be reported?
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What I love about Menzie is he can compete in the air and bring the ball to ground against bigger opponents, he has balls and knows when itās his time to go.
Heās in the Lachie Schultz mold of small forward as opposed to the Bobby Hill style, not super fast but hard working and always providing an option.
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Exactly. His greatest asset is his pace and he needs space ahead of him. St Kilda tried him for years as a forward and he never succeeded.
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Iād be curious to hear whether anyone remembers Stephen Milne as being specially fast (I donāt).
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Plus our mid position is stacked. So most likely Cadlwell, Hobbs or even Perkins are ahead of them.
He was fast to take his pants off.
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Definitely does. Thatās why he needs time.
Iāve seen him calmly kick 8 out of 10 from a pocket.
But in a game it is different. The running is different, the time to take a shot is different, etc.
You can try and train for those situations, but as soon as you add 80k eyes on you and another 200k watching on tv, it does play with your mind.
I think Menzie isnāt going to be the creative forward we are seeking. Iāve likened him to Lincoln McCarthy of the Lions. He does his job defensively, is a good lead up target and plays his part weekly and is good for 1 or 2 goals most weeks without going big to warrant the main small defender of the opposition.
If you look at Lincolnās stats since he joined the Lions, he only has a handful of games per season where he goes goalless.
That should be what we expect of him.
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DP3 look stronger
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