Fremantle great Paul Hasleby has slammed Liam Henry's effort and desire after an anonymous performance for Peel Thunder in their WAFL elimination final.
Hasleby was scathing in his assessment of Henry's value, stating that rival clubs can "have him" on SEN WA’s The Run Home.
These comments have been made following revelations that the 21-year-old is assessing his options ahead of 2023.
Despite being touted as a potential understudy to boyhood idol Michael Walters, Henry has been linked to a move away from Fremantle after playing just seven games in 2022, having featured 17 times in 2021.
"They [rival clubs] can have him. If there’s a club out there that wants Liam Henry, they can come and get him because I watched him closely play for Peel Thunder on the weekend, and he just doesn’t work hard enough," Hasleby said on SEN.
"[Justin] Longmuir won’t tolerate that; he wants blokes that play their role, play their position, and just give absolutely everything.
"The last five minutes of that game, and if he was injured, I’m sorry. But what I saw, he turned the ball over twice and there were times you just needed to screw your guts up, get front and centre, tackle, chase — he did none of that."
The former top-10 pick's development has been slower than expected, playing just 27 games whilst other Fremantle draft contemporaries Hayden Young, Michael Frederick and Caleb Serong have featured in 35, 39 and 58 matches respectively.
Young and Serong, who were also highly touted top-10 picks, have become crucial members of Fremantle's lineup and featured in Fremantle's first finals appearances since 2015.
Frederick, who was drafted at pick 61 in 2019 alongside the aforementioned players, plays a role akin to what it was hoped Henry might develop towards and is similarly entrenched in Fremantle's best 22.
"He [Henry] was a high draft pick and academy player to the Fremantle Dockers, and often when you trade them out, we look at that value," Hasleby said.
"So if there is a club that wants to give up a pick 20, 25, 30 for Liam Henry, I reckon Fremantle should seriously look at that offer because I just don’t think he’s going to have the work rate to make it happen at that football club."
