He’s played all but one game this season and Ned McHenry puts it down to the work he’s done in the gym to build up his strength.

Speaking on The Optus Crows Show, the 179cm small forward said being able to match it with bigger bodies had helped him secure a spot in the side’s best 22.

“A big growth area for me has been my body and just making sure that I can try and build a body that is ready to play at AFL (level),” McHenry, 20, said.

“For me a lot of the stuff has been working with some of the guys in rehab and in the strength department as well.

“Just preparing my body and just making sure I can deal with the loads.

“I am just enjoying being part of a system that’s been pretty competitive this year.

“We’ve been in a lot of games and managed to win some really good games as well.

“Having a role in that system has been really enjoyable and I obviously just love playing.”

McHenry, who made his AFL debut in Round Two last year, has averaged 3.2 tackles, 5.2 contested possessions and 11.8 disposals with a 74.6 percent disposal efficiency. 

He has also kicked seven goals.

McHenry said he had focused on inspiring his teammates by bringing as much energy to the ground as he could.

“(The forward line) is fresh and talking about energy… there’s a lot of that in the forwards group,” McHenry said.

“That’s something we pride ourselves on, bringing energy, bringing our competitiveness and our contest.

“We just try to enjoy it and we try to play our roles and play for each other.

“We are a young group so we are just trying to embrace all the challenges and stuff that comes to it.”

Also on The Optus Crows Show this week, Nathan van Berlo speaks about the honour of sharing the No. 7 guernsey with other greats of the Club and youngster Patrick Parnell joins Brodie Smith to talk about his whirlwind few weeks since arriving at West Lakes.

The Optus Crows Show airs on Channel 7 Adelaide at 1.00pm this Saturday.

Interstate fans can catch the full episode on afc.com.au shortly after.