Player Watch #3: Harry Sheezel - 23 AFL RS/NM SBM, AFLPA BYP, '24 AA squad, '24 AFLCA BYP

[FlyHigh18]

I was in the Virgin lounge with the team after game, and on the same flight back.

He looked perfectly fine and cheery.

Ppl forget there’s actually been a lot of change to the 23 since last year (like a lot) plus positional changes. Some players are still just getting accustomed to their new roles.

 

[Big_H]

Yeah it’s a strange one. The fact he’s had 3 games in a row where he’s been poor for 3 quarters (by his lofty standards) and lifted for the last shows it’s not likely to be a leg issue.

If I were to guess id say it’s just a form slump. There has to be a reason why he never fumbled last season and now he can barely pick it up this one.

Ultimately, he’s a victim of his own high standards. Very few players in the afl would be unhappy with the stats he’s putting up, but he’s at best half as effective as he’s been. Guy’s a pro, so I reckon he’ll turn it around.

 

[nicko74]

On the plus side, we are competing well without him at his brilliant best...

 

[FootySmartSimpson]

Yes it is fair to suggest that Sheezel hasn’t been in the same form he was in last season but that does not mean he hasn’t been “covering the ground” or playing poorly. Last week he ran 14.7 km which was the most of any player in that game. This week he ran 14.9 km which was the highest rank North player. He also had 28 and 26 touches in the last 2 weeks. Sure some of his disposal was sloppy in the Melbourne game but his disposal efficiency in the Crows game was mid 80s. Not bad. Sure not great but not bad. :stern look

He also wasn’t trying any of the disposals he normally would to break zones or set us up. For Harry’s standards he is bog-average, bland football. You can spin it any way you want but he is having no hurt factor on the game so far this year.

McKercher, who I don’t think is doing that well and is getting 40% less disposals than Harry each game, is probably having more of an impact.

This is not a dig at Harry. Something is different, whether injury or otherwise, and I think it’s strange that the club hasn’t addressed it for fans (unless it’s personal, in which case, I hope he has the support he needs around him).

 

[DuckYeah]

He’s playing like a bit of a cat.. im not liking what im seeing this season.

 

[DuckYeah]

Redemption week for a lot of our “stars”.

Not good enough

 

[king of the road]

I was in the Virgin lounge with the team after game, and on the same flight back.

User name checks out.

 

[ChopChopDigDig]

Yes it is fair to suggest that Sheezel hasn’t been in the same form he was in last season but that does not mean he hasn’t been “covering the ground” or playing poorly. Last week he ran 14.7 km which was the most of any player in that game. This week he ran 14.9 km which was the highest rank North player. He also had 28 and 26 touches in the last 2 weeks. Sure some of his disposal was sloppy in the Melbourne game but his disposal efficiency in the Crows game was mid 80s. Not bad. Sure not great but not bad. :stern look

Harry had 12 touches in the last quarter when he was pushed back to HB at 92% efficiency.

 

[Themanbun]

Is just struggling with roles within positions and getting in his own head a bit is my guess.

Doing more running for less reward is usually a sign of that.

 

[DuckYeah]

Harry had 12 touches in the last quarter when he was pushed back to HB at 92% efficiency.

He can have 3 million touches, he didn’t impact the game. He was fumbling and scared of contact.

 

[ferball]

He had stints through the midfield, as the CBAP I shared shows. But at no point last year, with the exception of Round 11, did Sheezel play a full game in the midfield, or anything close to a full game. This notion that Sheezel 'played his best football as a full time midfielder' just isn't supported by the reality of where he actually played last year.

If you want more data points to support the CBAP analytics I shared above, let's look at where he got his possessions last year. Here's three random games from early, mid, and late in the season.

Here's his possession/heat maps for Round 21:

View attachment 2267089
Round 16:

View attachment 2267095


Round 4:

View attachment 2267093

Those maps clearly show that he was playing up the ground later in the season and he moved out of half back.

When he played in the backline early in the season all of his possessions are in the back half of the ground. Later in the season the majority are happening between the arcs and his possessions down back reflect what you'd expect from a mid or mid/high half forward who pushes back in support and to help transition out of the backline.

And that's when he played his best footy last year.

Not necessarily as a full time mid but up the ground rotating thru the midfield and as a high half forward, not in the backline as you suggested upthread.

In the second half of the year Sheeze played up the ground and we looked much better to the eye. His performances were more impactful too.

This is backed by stats. He went from one goal early to thirteen in the second half of the year and his GA stats Doubled as well. His rating points went thru the roof and watching him and the side play we looked alot better.

Looks lost in the midfield, and also looks under-sized for that role, it has to be said. Send him back to the HBF where he did his best work.

This is a ludicrous assessment and moving him back full time would be a regressive move.

 

[TruRoo]

Adjusting to a new role. Has the talent but just needs minutes in the job.

 

[ferball]

He played Mid/Fwd last year and was by far our best player despite being only 19.

There’s something clearly not right. He’s not covering the ground that well and he’s fumbling a lot for someone that has been as one-touch as we’ve seen in a north jumper in his first two years. It’s not positional, it’s either in his head or his body (perhaps the ankle which I was originally told was syndesmosis at the time).

Kingys put it on the radar now so hopefully he can work through it. If we are gonna win more than a couple of games this year we really need him to get going as one of the best Mid/Fwds in the competition.

Sides are putting alot more time and effort into dealing with him now. He just has to work thru it the way every other young, talented player has over the years.

 

[Blightys Barrel]

All I can say is that he slides out of my Dream Team this weekend as he is costing me a packet. A victim of the dizzy heights he has set in his first 2 years. He will probably go for 150 this week to punish me, and if that results in a Kangas win that is all fine by me.

 

[Themanbun]

Also there were a couple of NEARLY awesome goals in the first three rounds that he just missed that I think would've confirmed for him this is the role for him.

 

[Val Keating]

No where near his best in terms of impact but his numbers aren’t bad. We know how classy he is so the impact on games will come.

 

[Northwards]

Combination of a lot of things.
The role he is adapting to is different, not as much quarterbacking plus the unseated running another poster said before. We play a lot of ball use through Daniel now, probably takes 4-5 relatively cruisey hit ups from him a game early to get his eye in.

The other is that teams out a fair amount of work in to him now. It might not be a full tag but he definitely gets chipped/blocked a lot at stoppages and when he rolls up as the high hf. He’s such a fun and it shows how good he is he can still find the footy when he’s out of form.

The one thing he probably hasn’t made massive improvement in yet in terms of his development is his tank. Which is so important for breaking a tag or extra attention. It will come.

Very interesting what they do with his role. I think 3 weeks for your best (?) player out of form might warrant a slight tweak.
Whether it’s
-HB to start and roll Daniel to HF for a quarter

-Deep forward as he probably gets the 4th or 5th defender as a good matchup.

- Make him fight through the growing pains of becoming a superstar which he’ll have to deal with eventually, rather him learn now before we are contending.

DISCLAIMER: Harry Sheezel is an absolute stud. Has extremely high standards that we are all use to and will be our leader and star for the next decade and a half

 

[Shermanator]

Shows how good he's been and how spoilt we are to have someone so talented in our side.

He might not be playing to 100% yet this year just yet, but compared to Oliver, Cripps, Petracca, Neale, Wines & co at the same age he's equalling (and in most cases) is producing better stats than what they did..

The kid will be a multiple Brownlow winner. He's a freak.

 

[roos_fanatic08]

The fact that he can find the footy despite being in a bit of a slump is a huge positive for mine.

He seems to be lacking a bit of touch but the tide will turn, his class won’t disappear overnight.

I’d love for him to be played as the deepest forward for 5 minutes per quarter, feel like he could make things happen inside forward 50 if he was given a bit of space. Push Larks and Darling up the ground, have Curtis & Sheez as the deepest forwards. Every mid defender in the comp would be shitting bricks against those two.

 

[Devski]

Would love to see him line up off half back for the first quarter. Give him a quarter to get into the game

 

[Midas]

Phark me. Are we serious here?

Three weeks of 28 possession football in a new structure and we are hanging his impact out to dry.

Did you see the almost goal in Q1 v Melbourne, his consistency in hitting targets even if they were shorter, the impact in Q4 v Melbourne.

Y’all need to back the track up.

 

[Big_H]

Phark me. Are we serious here?

Three weeks of 28 possession football in a new structure and we are hanging his impact out to dry.

Did you see the almost goal in Q1 v Melbourne, his consistency in hitting targets even if they were shorter, the impact in Q4 v Melbourne.

Y’all need to back the track up.

It’s not the pure numbers, the eye test says he’s fumbling ground balls, missing kicks and making poorer decisions than last year when he was playing the same position.

But like everyone has said, he’s a victim of his own ridiculously high standards, and he’ll come good. The hope is that it’s sooner rather than later.

 

[ferball]

It’s not the pure numbers, the eye test says he’s fumbling ground balls, missing kicks and making poorer decisions than last year when he was playing the same position.

But like everyone has said, he’s a victim of his own ridiculously high standards, and he’ll come good. The hope is that it’s sooner rather than later.

He missed kicks all year last year, and the one before. Just about every player does, especially in the midfield.

He looks a little bit more fumbly, but only like ... 10% maybe.

 

[Horizons_00]

The damning vision on Sheezal giving upon chasing out of the midfield against the bulldogs game, tells me he is flat

He hasn’t got that energy we are used too

 

[Caracas]

We’re just putting more scrutiny into him and spotting “fallings”. Other teams are obviously focusing on him more as well because, overall, we’ve become more of an issue for them. It’s Harry’s challenge and I’m sure he’ll step up to meet it.