Lara co-coach Shayne Stone says the club is keen to hang onto Will McKenzie despite the talented youngster lodging a clearance to a Melbourne-based club.
The Cats have denied the under-contract McKenzie’s request to join Keilor in the Essendon and District league.
It’s not surprising that Lara wants McKenzie to stay. After arriving from Noosa, he showed enough promise in his first season to earn an invite to do a pre-season with Geelong’s VFL program.
“He’s a very important part of the club after one year,” Stone said.
“He had a really good year with us, and we’re hoping for him to take that next step after finding his feet.
“And having a pre-season down with the Cats, we were looking forward to seeing what he could bring back from there.”
Stone says McKenzie has raised family and work as reasons for wanting to depart the Snakepit.
“We’re happy to work with him on what that looks like,” Stone said.
“It’s probably one of those ones where we want him to have a go, and if it gets too hard in the end, then we’re happy to look at it then.
“But, from where we’re at as a club and what we’re trying to do, he’s just too important to us, from our point of view, not to give it a crack and see if we can’t help him out.”
If McKenzie were to leave, it would be a further off-season blow for Lara, which had recruit Cooper Ellis pull the pin without playing a game.
After joining the club late last year, he decided to play with Western Region club Parkside.
Lara opens its 2024 campaign on April 13 with a Paddy Chair Cup clash against North Shore at Windsor Park.
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