Ollie Henry has spent the majority of his first three seasons in the AFL down forward, kicking 46-goals across his 36-game career so far.
After crossing over to Geelong in the 2022 trade period, Henry has proven to be a reliable addition to the Cats booting 18-goals this season alongside Jeremey Cameron and Tom Hawkins.
But Saturday’s clash with the Bulldogs saw Ollie take up a different role, spending plenty of time patrolling the Marvel Stadium wing and even sneaking through the midfield.
Henry said trialling the new position is something that will enhance the development of his game.
“It was something we discussed, it's really good for learning and development,” Henry told k Rock Football.
“For most of the night, I was learning my running patterns on the off side of the ground. I found myself running up and down a lot, it was a pretty quick game.
"I was trying to run and support both offense and defence but I was pretty gassed.
"We've got great players like Isaac Smith who have been great and successful wingmen. Post this game he is going to show me a lot and take some great learning from it.”
Henry was freed up to move down the ground with the inclusion of Gary Rohan, who returned for his first game since the round seven clash with Essendon.
Rohan’s return re-united Geelong’s ‘three-headed monster’ down forward, which allowed Henry to roam further up the ground and add versatility to his game.
Ollie said that Rohan’s addition was important for the Cats structure.
“Rohan coming back into the side was a massive spark for us," Henry said. "He crashes contests and brings the ball to ground; we loved having him back.”
Henry played a crucial role in Geelong’s win over the Bulldogs, kicking a vital goal midway through the final quarter to extend the Cats lead at an important time in the game.
He was just one of Geelong’s budding young stars to stand tall against a strong opposition, with Tanner Bruhn and Mitch Knevitt both performing strongly on the big stage.
Bruhn laid an incredible 12-tackles against the highly-rated Bulldogs midfield, while Knevitt was important all night with 17-dispsals and seven tackles of his own.
Henry said the young players were crucial to Geelong’s success on Saturday night.
"Some of the young boys, Tanner Bruhn and Mitch Knevitt really stood up in the big moments. It's a great spark for us heading into the next part of the season."
"There was external pressure that never crept into the club, we just live our day to day lives and maintain a positive spirit throughout the week.
"We knew we could turn up the heat in that second half against a quality opposition in the Doggies, and we're stoked to have gotten the win."
