JORDIE McKenzie says his final month of the 2013 season gave him renewed confidence, as he looks to his 2014 pre-season campaign.
McKenzie, who played 54 from 66 matches from 2010-12, managed just 12 appearances in 2013, after a calf problem interrupted his early part season, and elbow injury halted his second half of the year.
But when the midfielder returned against the Gold Coast Suns in round 20, after seven matches out of the side, he arguably played the best game of his career, when he kept the great Gary Ablett to just 19 touches – an outstanding effort, given the brilliance of the dual premiership player and two time Brownlow Medallist.
It was Ablett’s leanest day since he gained three touches and suffered an injury against the Sydney Swans in round 16, 2011. Before that, while at Geelong, he had 13 disposals against Fremantle in round 15, 2008.
From there, McKenzie found some much needed confidence after a frustrating season.
“To get the opportunity to play on a bloke like Ablett, with the help of Garlo (Colin Garland) and a few of the other guys – and to do a reasonable job on him – gave me a lot of confidence,” he told melbournefc.com.au.
“At times, that was another thing that swayed me throughout the year. Naturally, your confidence takes a hit here and there when you’re getting beaten.
“To get back in and play on Ablett and go OK helped me go forward for the next few weeks, and I took a bit out of that. I reckon that helped me improve my form in those last few weeks.”
McKenzie’s ability to quell some of the best in the business was not new, but his performance on Ablett reinforced his ability. It’s a role he wants to build on in 2014.
“At the moment, I think [being a run-with player] is my strength. Not every team has a hard run-with tagger, which is probably the role I’ve played the last couple of years,” he said.
“To a degree, most teams have some element of that player, whether it’s a really hard Ryan Crowley tag or a Brad Sewell, who is a hard defensive player, but can also accumulate a lot of the footy.
“No doubt, it’s my strength, but one of the main reasons why I played a few weeks in the VFL was to develop other areas of my game. I’m very big on that area and I’m not just throwing the offensive stuff aside and being a purely negative player, because I don’t think that’s healthy.
McKenzie said he would continue to develop his overall game, but ultimately he loved the challenge of stopping the game’s best midfielders.
“I still need to keep getting better at that, but as far as roles going forward, who knows? I’m happy to play whatever role I’ll get given,” he said.
“No doubt, I’ve got to keep developing and not be a one trick pony.
“In saying that, I do love the role.”
