STRENGTHS:

+ Athleticism
+ Clean hands
+ Decision making
+ Disposal efficiency
+ Stoppage craft

IMPROVEMENTS:

- Outside game
- Quarter-to-quarter consistency

It has been a successful year both individually and team-wise for Mackenzie, who was a core part of a premiership winning Sandringham Dragons side and championship winning Vic Metro outfit. Averaging a touch over 24 disposals in the NAB League, with a 35-disposal and one-goal game in Round 10 a particular highlight, Mackenzie has been one who has shown he’s far more likely to look for dangerous options rather than try and do too much himself, with his team orientated approach being pivotal to a few wins over the course of the year.

Mackenzie’s decision making under pressure is particularly key to this aspect of his game, allowing him to quickly assess options through congestion and fire a quick handball to a runner, regularly keeping his hands high to avoid being pinned in a tackle. Whilst the hands in close are impressive, Mackenzie’s ability to weight his kicks well from packs is arguably the most unique part of his game, rarely putting too much penetration on a kick to allow his teammates to run onto it without breaking stride.

Mackenzie boasts an impressive athletic base which gives him the tools to create separation at stoppages and around the ground, complimenting his natural craft well. Whilst not always the main target around stoppages, Mackenzie is a natural when the ball is thrown up, timing his runs well and reading the ball off the rucks hands to take it at close to full flight. Mackenzie also plays the role of receiver naturally around stoppages, using that same speed to get separation on his direct opponent and spread from the congestion well, getting out in space in a position easy for his teammates to give the ball out to.

Offensively, Mackenzie is very good value for his disposals, with the damage he causes with ball in hand already mentioned, his work off the ball is also admirable, as one of the better two way runners in the crop, Mackenzie works hard to help aid his side in defence, whether it’s laying tackles or applying heavy pressure on an oppositions disposal.

Whilst Mackenzie has been consistent in terms of stats and impact game-to-game, there is still some way to go with his consistency between quarters, sometimes fading out of games when there are less stoppages or the game opens up in general. This ties into Mackenzie perhaps needing to work on his ability to impact in open play, admittedly an area that improved through the season, but still occasionally looking rushed when disposing the ball on the outside.