2003
McVeigh clearly had his best season ever at the club in 2003. He played every game and was consistent week in and week out. The coaching panel’s decision to move him to the back pocket proved to be effective. He matched it with some of the best small forwards in the competition and in the process was also able to provide the team with run out of the backline. McVeigh also floated forward on occasions and finished the season with nine goals.
STRENGTHS
McVeigh’s foot skills have always been a highlight of his game. He has the ability to deliver the ball with pinpoint accuracy and on many occasions in 2003 his polished kicking skills was valuable in moving the ball out of the backline. An area where he greatly improved in 2003 was his one on one duels. McVeigh worked on his upper body strength over the pre-season and was rarely beaten in a contested situation.
POSITION
Previous to last season McVeigh had spent the majority of his time in the midfield and as a small forward. He underwent a successful role reversal in 2003 and made a name for himself as a defender. With Mark Johnson moving into the midfield, McVeigh took over the role as a tough back pocket player. He matched it with some of the best small forwards in the competition including Paul Medhurst and Leon Davis.
2004
McVeigh’s challenge in 2004 is to further improve on the form he showed last season and ensure he is consistent week in, week out. McVeigh needs to shut down the influence his opponent has on the match and also work on the attacking side of his game. If he can provide the team run out of defence, he will be damaging to opposition teams.
WHAT SHEEDY SAYS
Mark settled into the back pocket last season. He has become a regular senior player and is learning more about the game. He wouldn’t have spent much time in the backline earlier in his career, but I like the players to get some defensive mechanism in their game and then they learn to attack in that position. Over the years most of the players that have gone down to the back pocket have had terrific careers.
He has got the hunger, the passion and the love for the game to want to do well at it. He probably came into Essendon at a very difficult time. He was trying to get into a team that nearly got to three grand finals in a row and had champions across each line. It is pretty hard to get into a side that has only lost one game in a year and that is when he was trying to break in.
