Former star key forwards Cam Mooney and David Schwarz have weighed in on the Dan Menzel debate, revealing one of the reasons why he remains on the outer with his contract situation.
It is understood that Menzel is keen to stay with Geelong, but the lack of action on the contract front has resulted in his management starting to gauge rival club interest. The inability to apply defensive principles in the attacking half is one of the main reasons Menzel’s value is in question.
“For Geelong people, the lack of pressure he is providing in the forward 50 and his inconsistent performances are frustrating,” Schwarz said on SEN’s The Run Home.
“Dan Menzel will do things others can’t do, but the things you have to do is you have to chase and tackle because you have a guy next to you named Tom Hawkins who can’t do that. You can’t be a double liability. It isn’t hard to tackle.”
The two-time Cats leading goal kicker echoed those sentiments, but is also weary of the dilemma Geelong is tossing up.
“Anyone who can kick you around the 40-goal mark as a second or third key forward…it’s a tough one to weigh up,” Mooney said.
“Do we get the 40 goals per season, but a guy who just isn’t putting the pressure on? Is he not putting the pressure on the back of the twisting and turning with chasing and tackling because of his confidence in the knee? He probably has that in the back of his mind constantly because he doesn’t want to do another one.
“Unfortunately, if you want to give yourself hold of the game, you need to do those things for the team.”
According to Champion Data, Menzel is the worst pressure player amongst general forwards in the competition. Geelong has a host of other small forwards who have struggled with form and injury this season; something Mooney believes could be working against Menzel’s favour.
“Lincoln McCarthy and Cory Gregson...those two boys put that pressure on inside the 50, but they’re young and wouldn’t kick you 40 goals in a season yet,” he said.