Ollie Henry during Geelong's game against Essendon in R22, 2026. Picture: AFL Photos

OLLIE Henry's four-goal haul against Essendon was the latest reminder of his importance to Geelong in what has been a sneaky good year for the young forward.

The 24-year-old has kicked 39 goals across 20 games this year, including 13 from his past four outings, thriving among the Cats' much heralded forward line.

Henry and Ollie Dempsey combined for eight majors against the Bombers, with the latter pushing forward from the wing and Henry making the wet and windy conditions look obsolete, clunking overhead marks and converting with ease.

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All-Australian Kate McCarthy told The Round So Far that she believes Henry has flown under the radar amid the attention given to some of the Cats' other attacking weapons, but his numbers stack up.

"Geelong kicked the first 10 goals of the game but (Ollie) Henry and (Ollie) Dempsey kicked seven of the first eight, so it was an Ollie-fest at GMHBA Stadium," McCarthy said

"But Ollie Henry, I think every week I've said he's underrated.

"His ability to hit the scoreboard in this forward line that people are talking about with (Shannon) Neale, and when Jeremy Cameron is playing they're talking about Jeremy Cameron and even Jay Polkinghorne is potentially getting a little bit more air time than Ollie Henry, which is a little bit undeserved for mine.

"I think Henry has had a phenomenal year."

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McCarthy also heaped praise on Dempsey, declaring him the competition's premier winger who deserves a spot in the All-Australian side.

The 23-year-old's elite work rate was again evident against the Bombers as he finished with 19 disposals and seven score involvements to complement his bag of four goals.

"For some reason it seems to be very hard to make the All-Australian team as a winger but if there is one to do it, it has to be Ollie Dempsey this year," she said.

"His performance as a winger - it's defensive, it's offensive, he hits the scoreboard and he does it regularly.

"He's almost reinvented the role of a winger and you see plenty of other teams now trying to utilise or lean on that game plan they use with Ollie Dempsey as a winger running goal square to goal square, and he owns that side of GMHBA."