OLIVER Henry lives in Geelong, barracks for Geelong, trained with Geelong last year and has a brother – defender Jack – who plays for Geelong.
He is viewed as a possible top-10 pick at this year's NAB AFL Draft. The Cats, who have shown a penchant to draft local products, hold three first-round selections this season.
"It would be great to [go there], but even if it wasn't to be at Geelong I'd be really grateful for any opportunity," Henry told the Road to the Draft podcast.
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Diplomatic response aside, all clubs will have their eye on Henry, who shapes as an exciting talent at both ends of the ground.
The 188cm prospect started to show his wares last season, featuring in 15 games for the Geelong Falcons in the NAB League.
He was tipped to take things to another level this year before the COVID-19 fallout saw the NAB League suspended indefinitely.
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Henry, a strong overhead mark and smart user of the ball, looks up to Collingwood's high-flying defender Jeremy Howe but says he feels more dangerous in attack.
"I grew up doing a lot of athletics with my brothers and the way we like to play footy is we combine both athletics and footy together and use that background to an advantage and like to fly and jump at the ball," he said.
Henry looks set to take a different path to the top level than his brother, who is four years older.
Jack was overlooked at the 2016 NAB AFL Draft, but won a reprieve when the Cats selected him with pick No.16 in the rookie draft which followed.
He became a constant in Geelong's defence in 2018, playing 22 games, and last year played 23 of the Cats' 25 matches, including their three finals.
"I was my brother's No.1 supporter [in his draft] year and it was really good he got to stay here in Geelong through the rookie draft. I remember he was very similar to me in a sense that we're both similar body types and game styles, too," he said.
"I enjoyed the little ins and outs and advice he gave me in how I went about my training and what they expect of a player.
"I thought it was really good how Jack would help me out and give me tips about what it takes to make it to that level. He gave me a bit of an example which I can try to do my best in emulating in my draft year."
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He's also aiming to emulate his feats in some backyard contests at home, although that is still proving a challenge.
"It's starting to even itself out a bit," he said.
"It used to be a clearly one-sided competition between us boys because I was four years younger and still very small and I've gotten a bit taller. Jack's still got me unfortunately, but we still like to give it a crack."
