Lachlan Henderson Biography

Lachie Henderson announces his retirement after 206 games and 14 years in the system.

"Lachie has made a significant contribution since joining the club in 2016. He was a strong clubman and always focused on improving his teammates. Lachie could always be depended on and helped the club to the finals in each of his seasons with us," Geelong's general manager of football Simon Lloyd said.

Lachie Henderson will search for a fourth AFL club after being delisted by Geelong.

Struck down by knee and foot injuries in recent seasons, the 29-year-old managed just 13 matches across 2018 and 2019.

Lachie Henderson is ruled out for up to three weeks with a plantar fascia injury in his foot.

With five VFL games under his belt, the Lachie Henderson is set to play his first match of the 2018 season after three knee surgeries dating back to October last year.

"Physically he's good to go, fitness-wise there's no worries," Cats teammate Zach Tuohy said.

"I've never seen anyone smash themselves the way he has in his recovery. He's champing at the bit. It was a slow build in the VFL, he didn't rush it and did all the right things."

The full price of recruiting Patrick Dangerfield, Lachie Henderson, Gary Ablett and Zach Tuohy will be realised at the end of 2018, with Geelong preparing to be hamstrung in future trading scenarios.

Having not taken a single first-round pick since 2014, the Cats will be forced to activate two first-round selections over the next two drafts to adhere to new AFL rules.

The AFL this week confirmed to AFL.com.au that unless a club has acquired two first-round picks between 2015-2018, it cannot trade away its first-round selection for 2019.

Lachie Henderson is placed on Geelong's long-term injury as he continues to battle an ongoing knee injury.

Geelong coach Chris Scott admitted to being pessimistic about the defender's injury.

"Most of our injured players are getting closer, but 'Hendo' seems to be the exception to the rule. He seems to be getting further away," Scott said.

Lachie Henderson undergoes his third bout of knee surgery since last season.

Henderson was sent for an arthroscope when he failed to reach full fitness after his most recent surgery in December.

"Lachie’s knee surgery went as expected, we believe this will allow him to return to football later this year," Geelong general manager of football Simon Lloyd said.

Geelong coach Chris Scott says the club will be conservative when managing Lachie Henderson's return from pre-season knee surgery.

"It's not something we think is going to limit him through the season. It's just a matter of getting it completely right and that just takes a bit of time at this stage," Scott said.

"It's not a serious issue and it's one that the surgeons and the doctors say should resolve itself, but for Lachie it's just really frustrating at the moment because it's a bit slower than expected."

Lachie Henderson's pre-season has hit a new hurdle with the Geelong defender undergoing a second bout of knee surgery in as many months.

The 27-year-old had an arthroscope on his right knee after being plagued by soreness since his original October operation.

Lachie Henderson and Jarrad Waite have a close encounter with a shark in the surf.

The pair were at Bells Beach when a 2m shark became tangled with another surfer's leg rope and knocked him off his board.

The two players were only about 15m away.

It is understood that Henderson and Waite decided not to return to shore, reasoning that the shark was unlikely to return to the same spot.

Geelong has been dealt an injury blow on the eve of the finals with defender Lachie Henderson having surgery on his right knee.

The Cats have described the surgery as minor and remain hopeful the 26-year-old will play finals.

"The timing of Lachie’s injury isn’t ideal but the pre-finals bye will gift him with more time to recover," Geelong football manager Steve Hocking said.

"Lachie has been an important part of our team this year and we are optimistic he will see finals football."

Harry Taylor praises Geelong teammate and fellow defender Lachie Henderson who has gone the extra mile off field to fit in at his new club.

"He's been outstanding in building the relationships off the field, which is a really big part of footy," Taylor said.

"It's really important that you understand your teammates and how they like to think, what their interests are away from footy, all those little things.

"That might help you at a crucial time in a game and he's put himself out there to do that, so I think that's really helped him play great footy this year.

"He's fitted in really well and done a lot of work to make that happen."

Lachie Henderson is trying to relax about his football more than he may have in the past.

Henderson says he is learning with experience that being a hard taskmaster can sometimes be counter-productive, so he is open to finding outlets that help him maintain a positive mindset.

"The mental side of the game is huge these days, with all the pressures coming from the outside, so my mental part of the game is huge and is something I work on," Henderson said.

Geelong creates history by using its 2016 first-round pick to secure Lachie Henderson from Carlton.

It is the first time a club has used a future draft pick to make a trade with the value of the pick being dependent on where Geelong finishes on the ladder next season.

Geelong now becomes Henderson's third AFL club.

"Lachie's a versatile player, so he'll be (at) both ends of the ground," Geelong list manager Stephen Wells said.

"But over the next couple of years as guys finish up in our backline … that are into their 30s now, we see Lachie playing his best footy down back for us."

Former Carlton player Lachie Henderson's mother has slammed the Blues and AFL boss Gillon McLachlan after her son was told to pack his bags by the club.

"At no stage did he say he didn't want to play out the season," she said.

"That was not his choice that was directly from Carlton. He would have loved to have played the season out."

Mrs Henderson denied suggestions that the 25-year-old, who has struggled to find form in the past month, wasn't willing to play the remainder of the year in the VFL with the Northern Blues.

"That is completely and utterly wrong," she said.

"He had great years at Carlton. Yes his last year was not fantastic, but neither was the club last year fantastic."

Mrs Henderson also took aim at McLachlan, who was critical of her son's handling of the situation, saying his departure was "unneccesary" and "undisciplined".

"I think it was completely and utterly out of line to make a comment like that," she said.

"Then you have Brisbane coming out and saying they were getting rid of Jed Adcock. I don't think you can have one for one, and none for another.

"I think the traffic is very much one way. There's nobody more loyal to a club than Lachie Henderson."

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan has taken a hefty swipe at departing Blue Lachie Henderson, labelling his decision to ask for a trade before the end of the season as "undisciplined".

"I really don't like him saying he wants to go somewhere with three rounds to go," McLachlan said on 3AW radio.

"It's unnecessary, it's undisciplined, and I've just got no idea why people feel the need to do it, I really don't."

McLachlan's comments came less than an hour after Melbourne coach Paul Roos flagged a potential 'disaster' for the code.

"We don't want players declaring during the season that they're going to another club," Roos said.

"It's a really really bad look for the game and it shouldn't happen.

"The public will be up in arms, completely up in arms, about it and outraged by it

"It'll cause enormous angst amongst fans and sponsors and members and coaches and players and it'll be a disaster."

Lachie Henderson seems almost certain to be at Geelong next season after informing Carlton he wants a trade.

Carlton announced on Thursday that Henderson and the club had agreed it was in both parties' best interests that the swingman now stand out of the remaining three home and away rounds.

"We are obviously disappointed with Lachie's decision to request a trade but we want people who yearn to play for our Carlton jumper and who will accept the responsibility that comes with it," Carlton football manager Andrew McKay said.

"In consultation with our playing leadership group, it was decided it's in the best interests of the club that Lachie sits out of the remaining three games this season.

"This will allow further opportunity to see how some of our younger players continue to perform at the AFL level."

Lachie Henderson says a desire for "happiness and a bit of success" was behind his reason to leave the Blues.

Henderson conceded his recent form had been poor and said he understood Carlton's decision to show him the door immediately.

"I would have liked to play it out with the boys but my form probably wasn't good enough to. I respect the decision of the club to do it. I see where they are coming from with it," Henderson said.

"It is all about moving forward for the club and moving in a positive direction and for me not to be there next year there is no real point me hanging around and that is the decision that was made so I respect that decision."

Blues list manager Stephen Silvagni says Carlton is confident of re-signing Lachie Henderson despite significant opposition interest.

"We're comfortable with where things sit at the minute," Silvagni said.

"We met probably a week to 10 days ago so that was our last conversation.

"There were some positive signs there."

Out-of-contract Lachie Henderson says he has not made up his mind on whether he wants to remain at Carlton beyond 2015.

"There's a lot going on around the club, there's a lot going on with me to try to get my footy back to where it needs to be, and we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Henderson said.

"I'm more than happy that you can say that the perception can be that I'm leaving, because I'm waiting, but it's not always the truth."

Carlton believes that out-of-contract forward Lachie Henderson is keen on re-signing with the club, despite holding off putting pen to paper on a new deal.

"I spoke to the management group again this week. They're all very comfortable with Carlton and there's no worries about Lachie going anywhere else," McKay told Crocmedia.

"They're just sitting down for another couple of weeks and then we'll assess it from there.

"We've been in constant conversation with Lachie's management and a number of weeks ago they said let's see how Lachie starts playing early on in the year and then we'll look at in the next couple of weeks. That was six weeks ago."

Lachie Henderson is no hurry to sort out his football future beyond 2015, saying he wants to get back to his best before opening serious talks with the Blues.

"I was not great last year, so I think me just getting back to playing some good consistent footy and some injury-free footy would be nice, and we'll talk through it with the club when it comes up," Henderson said.

"It's not a big rush at the moment, and I don't think the club's rushing either."

Lachie Henderson says his 'swingman' days are over as he looks to settle in Carlton's forward line.

"I haven't heard the term swingman whipped out for a while. It was thrown all over the place in 2013, but yeah, I see myself as a forward," he said.

"We've got a lot of attacking options down there, so it's going to be a great year and a lot of fun down there, I think."

Carlton cuts it's leadership group from eight to five.

Sam Rowe is a new addition to the group while Andrew Carrazzo, Kade Simpson, Andrew Walker and the delisted Brock McLean have left the group.

Existing leadership group members include Marc Murphy, who will continue as captain, Michael Jamison, Bryce Gibbs and Lachie Henderson.

Carlton has announced an expanded eight-man leadership group for 2014 to be headed by second-year captain Marc Murphy.

Andrew Carrazzo and Kade Simpson will be joint vice-captains, while defender Michael Jamison returns to the group after 12 months in the role of deputy vice-captain.

As well as Jamison, Bryce Gibbs, Lachie Henderson, Brock McLean and Andrew Walker are new inclusions for 2014.

"We have the experienced leadership of Simpson and Carrazzo, together with Brock McLean who is a strong voice both on and off the field," Blues general manager of football operations Andrew McKay said.

"After 12 months out of the leadership group, Bryce Gibbs and Michael Jamison return, which is great to see, because they're two very important and respected figures within the playing group.

"We're also pleased to see Andrew Walker and Lachie Henderson step up – both have come off a terrific season in 2013, finishing second and third respectively in the best and fairest."

Lachie Henderson will have minor surgery to release tightness in his left leg, but the Blues are confident the procedure will only restrict his training for two weeks.

"Lachie has been aggravated by tightness in his leg for the past week, so we thought it's best that he have the procedure now," Carlton general manger of football operations Andrew McKay said.

"Lachie will be back running again in 10 days, so while this is a minor disruption to his pre-season, he will be ready to go for round one."

Carlton vice-captain Kade Simpson wins his first club best and fairest with 92 votes, ahead of defender Andrew Walker (77 votes) and utility Lachie Henderson (71 votes).

"Coming in I was hoping, but never really thought it would happen, and then later on the nerves sort of built up when I started polling a bit," Simpson said.

"Absolutely thrilled and, yeah, it's definitely one of my highest achievements."

Lachie Henderson has re-signed with Carlton for two more seasons.

"Lachie is improving year on year. It will be a good test for him to see just how good he can become," Carlton general manager of football operations Andrew McKay said.

"Players tend to improve up until 27-28, they don't improve a lot after that, so at 23 Lachie still has scope to continue developing.

"He's also part of our emerging leaders group so we will be looking for him to step up in that area as well."

Luke Hodge successfully challenges a rough conduct charge at the Tribunal after being reported for making contact with Carlton's Lachie Henderson.

Carlton defender Lachie Henderson rules himeself out for the rest of the season due to groin surgery.

"After speaking with the medical staff I decided it was best to have the surgery as soon as possible," Henderson said.

"Even with further rest I was no certainty to be able to play later this season and would still require the surgery. Having the surgery now will ensure I will be able to complete as much as the pre-season training as possible."

After playing up forward for most of his career, Lachie Henderson says he is now settled in in the Blues' defence.

"I actually am enjoying playing back. It's been really good for me. It's given me that confidence to play footy and I'm really enjoying it," Henderson said.

"I'd love to say I had it nailed. I'm going all right. I'm still learning. I'm still really working at it. But I'm definitely a lot more comfortable down there than I have been and I've got a lot more confidence down there."

Lachie Henderson says he appreciates being injury free during this year's pre-season compared to last's.

"The hip surgery was exactly this time last year. I was going in tomorrow actually," Henderson said.

"It's nice to finally - touch wood - get through a pre-season. I was sort of nursed through a bit in the first few weeks after some surgery on my foot, but I've been training fully now for a while."

Carlton forward Lachie Henderson could miss eight weeks' training after undergoing hip surgery.

"This is a setback for Lachie, but we were fortunate enough to be able to operate on him before Christmas, giving him time to recuperate during the break," general manager of football operations Steven Icke said.

"At this time we envisage Lachie will miss up to eight weeks [so] that will see him return to full training during the NAB Cup competition."

Carlton recruit Lachie Henderson says he is looking to forward to playing in more blockbuster games as a Blue with his club preparing to take on Essendon next at the MCG.

"I am not used to these big crowds, I am more used to 25,000-30,000, so it will be a big game next week," he said.

"There is a big rivalry between us so I can't wait for next week. I had never played at the MCG before, I had only played at Etihad Stadium, and it was interesting walking out there on the 'G."

Carlton assistant coach Brett Montgomery says the Blues do not have high expectations for Lachlan Henderson in his debut for the club against Richmond.

"His pre-season game form has been really good and he's given us a lot of confidence that he has got an enormous workrate," Montgomery said.

"We're pleased with where he's at, but we're also quite aware of his age and his experience (15 games), so the expectation on him is only moderate. We certainly don't expect him to blow the game away."

Lachlan Henderson says he put his hand up to move to Carlton after sensing he may have had a lack of opportunities at Brisbane if Brendan Fevola moved north.

"When I first heard about bringing Fev up north, I knew it would put me out for a couple of years," Henderson said.

"I spoke to Vossy on Thursday night and then again on Friday morning after the decision was made.

"He said they didn't want to lose me but it was my choice and he would understand either way. So from there it came down purely to opportunity."