Harry Sheezel has revealed his positional plans for the season and shed light on the area of his game he went about improving most in the summer.
He also opened up on the young teammate he’s “really expecting to blossom” in an expanded role, as well as the key reason the club’s starved supporters should be optimistic about the new campaign.
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Now in his fourth year since entering as the 2022 No.3 draft pick, Sheezel, a ball-winning force in the competition, is set to take his talents to another level.
The 67-gamer took a big step as a serial accumulator of the footy last year, headlined by equalling the all-time disposals record with 54 against Richmond in Round 23.
He averaged 29.3 disposals per game – seventh in the competition – and a fifth-best 21.3 effective disposals per game.
But external talk lingered around whether he was getting his touches in damaging areas of the ground, with his 5.4 score involvements ranking just 93rd in the AFL and outside the top 50 midfielders.
Sheezel was drafted three and a bit years ago as the cohort’s best hybrid forward prospect, having spoken of his “pretty good goal sense” as a junior.
And while he confirmed he’d be spending most of his time this year in the guts – playing as a pure midfielder through the final four rounds last season despite averaging 38 per cent centre-bounce attendances for the year – he said he’ll still push forward or drift back depending on the game situation and matchup.
“I’ve trained mainly in the midfield group; I think I’ll be solely there, but with hits at half-forward, hits at half-back, and I think that suits me and suits the team,” Sheezel told Foxfooty.com.au.
“I think, primarily, starting in the midfield but then the ability to mix and match with different players, and I think that helps my game just to break it up, and hopefully with a few other boys create some headaches for other teams to not have the same look all the time.
“But I think I’ll settle there (in the midfield) mainly.”
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But while Sheezel will predominantly rack up in the midfield in 2026, he and the Roos will attempt to toy with their opposition by switching up their looks mid-play to further weaponise their young superstar.
“I think a strength of ours will be, mid-play, just flicking – like, we’ve got some guys who know multiple roles,” he said.
“Like, for instance, Tom Powell might be starting at half-forward, but he’s played a lot of midfield … then, the way we play, if it just organically happens and I end up ahead of the ball, he’ll fulfil that role and I’ll fulfil his role, and we just work from there.
“So, we really built that synergy this pre-season, and it’s been working pretty well, so hopefully we can take that into the year.”
Harry Sheezel and Tom Powell are set to mix and match throughout this year. (Photo by Morgan Hancock/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Spending a considerable portion of last season as a half-back, few of Sheezel’s touches came in score-impacting positions – kicking just eight goals in 23 games – with criticism pointed at a mostly uncontested style of play.
And it’s that part of his game that the 21-year-old has zeroed in on this pre-season.
As far as individual improvements go this summer, Sheezel has sought to add weight to become a more reputed contested player.
“At the end of the season, playing more midfield this year, I just wanted to improve a bit of that contest side of my game; the physicality, speed and power,” he said.
“So I went away, and the main thing was just to put on a bit of size. I think I’ve put on like … I won’t say how much, but I’ve put on a few kilos, but intentional, worked really hard on my speed and power in the gym and trying to bring that out in my game.
“I think naturally, I’m probably more composed, slower, use my mind more, but trying to add a few different strings to my bow, and maybe challenge forward and kick a few more goals would be nice.”
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In other positive Arden Street developments, Sheezel didn’t have to think for long before settling on 2024 No.2 pick Finn O’Sullivan as his pre-season standout.
“Loved what he did last year; he’s just an ultimate team player,” Sheezel said.
“He came in straight away and just earned so much respect from all the players in terms of how he plays the game, just how good a kid he is.
“And I think this year he hasn’t missed a beat all pre-season. He’s just an incredible runner, but he’s strong as well in the contest, just can’t tackle him. And he’s got a really good head on his shoulders, really composed, but does all the team stuff.
“He’s one I’m really expecting to blossom this year. I’m not sure what his role is – he’s so versatile, so he can play multiple roles. Him, alongside Colby (McKercher), who I think is going to have a big year as well, they’ve both been training the house down.”
O’Sullivan, who played on a wing and across half-back in his first season, has expanded his game into the midfield this summer.
And while time in the guts will be harder to come by during the season proper, Sheezel, who also noted Luke Urquhart’s emergence this pre-season as a defensive midfielder, believes the 19-year-old is going to be a tremendous asset for the Roos.
“He played a lot of wing, half-back last year, and he’s had a lot of exposure in the middle of the ground so far in the pre-season, and he’s learnt a lot in that area of the ground,” Sheezel said of O’Sullivan.
“Learning from guys like ‘LDU’ (Luke Davies-Uniacke), and I think it’s been great for him to just get those reps in there, to see what it’s like at AFL level. He obviously didn’t have that (opportunity) last year, so he’s got that exposure.
“He’s able to go behind the ball, play on the wing, and a bit of half-forward as well. There are a few of us who I think can do that now, and I think it’s a real strength of ours.”
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Six-straight bottom-four finishes will have Roos supporters hesitant to pledge too much hope going into a new season – set to be Alastair Clarkson’s third full one in charge.
But Sheezel cited the playing group’s shared experience as a key reason for the club’s rusted-on fans to be filled with belief.
“I think the progression of the group, just the physical maturity, the mental maturity of the group,” he said.
“I think it’s no secret in the AFL, you see the best teams are the ones with the most experience, and the ones that have been able to play a bunch of games together.
“And I think we’ve got that now; that core group of players that have started to play a lot of footy together, now, train together, playing under the same game plan with Clarko.
“There’s no fast track. We’ve just got to keep believing in the process, in the game plan that the coaches are rolling out – we’ve made a few tweaks in that space that I think suit our group even better this year, but I think the main thing is just going to be the maturity and confidence of the individuals.”
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The Kangaroos open their 2026 account at home against Port Adelaide on March 15.
It’s the first of a winnable opening-month stretch for North Melbourne, which also faces West Coast, Essendon, Carlton and Richmond in the campaign’s first six weeks.
“I’m a bit reserved to throw out comments and say ‘oh, we’re going to be this, we’re going to be that’, because you don’t really know until you play opposition and really see how you stack up against them,” Sheezel said of the Roos’ pre-season to date.
“But the standard of training has been really high, and I feel like a lot of young boys have taken the next step in terms of their physicality, maturity, experience of what’s required of an AFL player.
“It feels like the standard of training, the contest, physicality has gone to a higher standard, from what I can tell so far. Keen to see how we go against opposition, but there’s a really good feeling around the club.
“We’re just trying to build that belief that we can match it with every other club in the competition, and we’re definitely building that belief session by session.”