Drafted by Carlton with the 11th pick of the 2012 AFL national draft, Troy Menzel’s short career has been turbulent. Injury and inconsistency have overshadowed the 22-year-old’s talent.
Having spent his first three years at Carlton before moving back towards home with the Adelaide Crows, Menzel has shown signs of being a potential AFL star ,yet due to a number of factors simply has not been able to have any continued impact at the highest level.
With the 2017 looming as another breakout opportunity for the 187cm half forward, will he begin to shine and finally break into Adelaide’s stacked forward line or tread water as one of many fringe players?
Leading up to the 2012 draft, Menzel was touted as an extremely exciting and promising prospect among AFL teams, with his class with ball in hand and incredible goal sense seeing him dominate throughout his junior career.
Playing for Central Districts in both the SANFL under 18 and reserves competitions respectively in the years prior to the beginning of his AFL career, Menzel constantly tormented opposition sides as a talented prospect, scoring 17 goals in eight games.
Despite this good form Menzel was unable to assert himself as a top ten pick, being selected 11th overall by Carlton in what many viewed as one of the steals of the 2012 draft.
Entering the competition with a large amount of talent, Menzel did not quite have the build or maturity to make an immediate impact at AFL level with his first season in 2013 yielding just seven games for eight goals.
However, despite his early struggles, Menzel would show signs of potential brilliance in his opening season which in turn prepared him well for what many saw as a breakout second season.
Following a match winning performance against West Coast in Round 5, Menzel had Carlton fans excited for the future as his class and skill saw him draw comparisons to Port Adelaide star Chad Wingard. The 2014 season would see Menzel play a career high 19 games and kick 26 goals, in what many thought was just the beginning for Carlton’s next superstar forward.
Following the highs of 2014, the 2015 season would be an unexpected struggle for the young forward as calf and knee injuries saw him only play 14 games for the Blues while only managing to kick 13 goals.
This inconsistency on the field and constant injury problems forced the Blues to look at trading the hyped youngster in exchange for more midfield depth and an improved draft position.
With the forward originally coming from South Australia, the Adelaide Crows optimistically jumped at the opportunity to bring the talented forward home, offering the Blues both their 2015 second round draft pick and fringe midfielder Sam Kerridge.
In what many, including myself, saw as a win for the Crows the 2016 season would be one of high expectations for Menzel as Adelaide saw him as the final piece that would tip the team’s forward line over the edge from good enough to truly elite.
However, a pre-season shortened by injury and a fitness base not up to AFL standard saw the talented forward miss out on selection in the early parts of the 2016 season, thus forcing him to slave away in the Crows SANFL team.
In what many thought would be a temporary arrangement while he adjusted to Adelaide’s system, injuries and inconsistent form saw Menzel become unable to crack into the AFL side for the entire season. As a result, many have already labelled the Menzel trade a bust for Adelaide as in turn Sam Kerridge has broken out into a solid AFL level midfielder with the Blues.
Now, at the ripe age of 22, Menzel is about to hit his prime as an AFL footballer. The 2017 season is now crucial as it will go a long way in determining whether he can live up to his earlier hype or be another trade bust for the Adelaide Football Club.
The first obstacle Menzel must overcome in order to illustrate his worth this season is breaking into Adelaide’s loaded 22, as the forward line in particular is loaded with a plethora of stars. With only a handful of available spots, Menzel must compete with the likes of Wayne Milera, Riley Knight, Cam Ellis-Yolmen and Harrison Wigg who have all shown themselves to be extremely promising prospects in the Crows SANFL team.
Along with this fierce competition for spots, Menzel must battle his common inconsistencies which since his induction into the AFL system have seriously plagued his development into a solid contributor at the highest level.
Although he has the ability to turn a game off of his own boot, Menzel also easily manages to fall out of games, with his lack of influence at certain stages. Another looming criticism of Menzel’s game is his sub-par fitness and poor attitude, as prior to the beginning of the 2016 season it was well documented that Menzel simply did not have the fuel tank or mental capacity to compete at AFL level.
However, with that being said another pre-season under Don Pyke and the Adelaide Football Club should only help Menzel with these problems as he has been forced to dig deep and fight for an opportunity to play at an AFL.
If he has taken these criticisms in his stride over the off season, 2017 could well and truly be the year that Menzel breaks out into an elite forward/midfielder and really tip the Crows over the edge from a semi finalist to the top four and beyond.
As the season draws closer, the ball is truly in Menzel’s court as to which way his career goes. Will he either get over his physical and mental problems and cement a spot in Adelaide’s talented best 22, or will he remain a fringe player fighting it out in the SANFL?
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