2024 has brought far greater continuity for Jack Henry, with the key defender hitting top form as he prepares for a fifth Preliminary Final appearance in just seven seasons with Geelong.
After only managing 11 games in an injury interrupted 2023 campaign, Henry has featured in every game for the Cats this year while continuing to be a key defensive anchor.
Henry ranks seventh in the competition for intercept marks this season, while also sitting in the top 15 for contested marks and intercept possessions.
While it has been an impressive year for the tall defender, he was quick to credit his teammates for building a strong defensive unit that has gelled together in 2024.
“The last few months I felt like I really found my feet, just trying to find and work on my game throughout the season,” Henry told Cats Media.
“It is such a long year but I am pretty happy at the moment, getting through unscathed to this point has been great.
It has been really fun working with those guys back there, great seeing Zach Guthrie and Jake Kolodjashnij doing really well which is exciting.
“We have had a lot of different guys roll through there, it goes a lot further than just six or seven players. It is a really nice thing to have different players go through, everyone that spends time back there does a really good job.”
All eyes are now fixed on Saturday’s Preliminary Final, as the Cats prepare to do battle with Brisbane looking to secure a third Grand Final berth in the last five years.
Henry touched on how exciting it is to be competing at the pointy end of the competition once again, encouraging Geelong fans to paint the MCG blue and white on Saturday.
“They looked good Brisbane and it was a great comeback win so we need to show up, but that was the case regardless who we were playing,” Henry said.
“We need to give it our all out there on the weekend, we will focus on our game and put some thought into their style but hopefully we can get it on our terms.
“It is going to be exciting, hopefully we get a lot of fans heading up the highway and it will be great to see a full MCG. Hopefully they spur us along and we give it our all out there.”
