Gun midfielder Darby Henderson says he was “confident” Lara was on the right track heading into pre-season before a mass exodus of players that has seen the club withdraw its senior and reserves teams from the 2026 GFNL season.
The reigning best-and-fairest, who was revealed as joining Leopold late last week, was signed to the Cats for this year.
However, Henderson, whose father Brett was preparing for his second season as senior coach, admitted that when teammates started finding new homes, he also pondered where his footballing future lay.
“We worked all year and got the win on the last day of the season, and everyone re-signed,” he said.
“And then we started losing a few, and I thought, ‘Oh, it’s probably not great, but it’s not a disaster’.
“Then, to be honest, it was probably when training took place, and there were really low numbers… it was a difficult pill to swallow.”
Lara made the difficult decision following a meeting with AFL Barwon last week.
“(For) people that have done so much hard work for the club, it’s the most heartbreaking thing,” Henderson said.
“I’ve only been there for 12 months, but inherited so much from what’s been such a strong club.
“Off field and the social side of things out at Lara was fantastic; I had really close mates I took out there with me.
“The old man coaching, Steve Soulsby coming on board as the football manager, I generally felt like we were heading in the right direction.
“To lose those connections and to lose a club that I thought I’d probably settle at for the rest of my career was a little bit upsetting, to tell you the truth.”
Even before Lara’s call to sit out the season, Henderson had been linked to a move.
Bellarine semi-finalists Queenscliff was where he trained on a couple of occasions, but it’s understood Henderson would have struggled to fit inside the Coutas’ points cap.
In the end, it was a message from a modern-day great at Leopold in late January that piqued the 25-year-old’s interest.
“I was pretty up in the air with it all, and then a message over Facebook Messenger from Marcus Thompson just popped up,” Henderson said
“I thought, ‘Well, if Marcus Thompson’s messaging me, I’ve got to respect it’.
“I spoke to him, and then he redirected me to (coach) Sam Hughes, and (I) had a chat with him.
“Straight away, I realised that Leopold was probably going to be a pretty good alignment for me.
“Everything they said, I was so impressed by.”
Medically retired by VFL club Williamstown heading into the 2025 season on concussion advice, Henderson contemplated his future at local level after receiving a head knock against St Albans in the middle of last season.
However, after missing three matches, he returned to play the final four rounds.
Despite being slowed by a minor ankle issue, Henderson is feeling good.
“I feel fine. I teach all day, go to training, have no lingering symptoms or anything,” he said.
“To come back from that last one and get four games of footy in it at the end of last year was really important for me.
“At the moment, I’m just trying to build back up and get more contact this pre-season, get some more confidence going.
“But, I’m hoping – and it’s always been the aim – just get through a full year of footy, and we’ll go from there.”
By the time Leopold’s Easter Saturday meeting with St Joseph’s rolls around, Henderson and partner Phoebe will be first-time parents.
Phoebe is due on March 8.
“It’s an exciting time; we just can’t wait,” Henderson said.
“Hopefully by Round 1 we’re at Lorne with a little Leopold jumper on.”
X: @krockfootball
