Lara coach Brett Henderson is determined to find the silver linings in a winless start to the GFNL season

They’re being beaten by an average of 157 points a game, but a new GFNL mentor is determined to find the silver linings in one of Geelong’s toughest sporting jobs.

Lara skipper Sam Purdy leads his side onto the ground against St Albans. Picture: Mark Wilson

It’s one of the toughest assignments in Geelong sport.

But just eight rounds into his new role as Lara’s senior coach, Brett Henderson is determined to find the silver linings and opportunities amid a 0-8 start and a 157-point losing margin.

Looking at the cricket scores a young Lara side has conceded this year, it would be easy to think its all been one-way traffic.

However, Henderson, a former head of development at Port Melbourne and Williamstown, is focusing on the green shoots for a team which didn’t have a player above the age of 19 in its forward line against Colac back in Round 7.

Last Saturday, the Cats were beaten by 166 points by Newtown & Chilwell, but Henderson was looking for the little wins, even if you have to peer a bit closer to find them.

For instance, they bounced back from a 276-point thrashing from St Mary’s to post a competitive score of 57 the following round against the Giants.

Lara coach Brett Henderson. Picture: Mark Wilson

“There were facets of that game that were really good,” Henderson said, who was appointed just days after Round 18 last year.

“The last probably four or five weeks, we’ve actually sort of been holding opposition sides to reasonable scores.

“There was one period of 10 minutes (against Newtown), another period of 17 minutes where we kept them goalless, so that’s 27 minutes of keeping a top side goalless, so there’s wins there.

“The Colac game, I thought they were really competitive throughout ... I think we only kicked a couple of goals but I think we kept them to 17.

“We had nobody over 19 years of age in the forward line.

“We’re probably looking at an average age around 20, which is extremely young.

“It’s probably not far off being an extension of an under-19 side, really. But it’s a good thing for our future.”

When asked how he stays resilient and upbeat despite a lack of success, the former Bendigo Pioneers mentor is typically self-effacing.

Lachlan Grima celebrates a goal against the Supersaints. Picture: Mark Wilson

“It’s not about me, it’s more about the players and ensuring they’re OK,” he said.

“I’ve probably been around the block a fair bit, I’ve got some miles on the clock, so it’s not entirely new to me.

“It’s just about making sure the players are OK and they’ve built some real resilience, and we’re showing some improvement within games.

“Last week our first quarter was sensational, but there’s been times where we’ve dropped away for periods of 10 to 15 minutes and sides really punish us.”

The Cats have endured a horror quarter in most games, with St Mary’s putting 16.1 on the board, Leopold 13.3 and Newtown & Chilwell 10.7.

Final terms have also been a worry, outscored 55.44 to 4.3 in 2025, while it took until Round 3 against the Saints to put its first last quarter score on the board.

Majak Daw has played five games for the Cats. Picture: Mark Wilson

However, the club has not sat on its hands and has made some moves to address the trend, bringing in former Williamstown general manager Steve Soulsby to oversee the football program.

Henderson said the appointment would allow him to focus more on coaching.

“Steve will oversee all facets of the footy club, and he brings outstanding administration experience but also outstanding football experience,” he said.

“I can’t speak more highly of Steve, and Steve will ensure, he will identify things we need to improve on.

“He’s already doing that and he’s feeding that back to coaches and he’s also feeding that back to the committee and (president) Chris (Spence).

“We’re really pushing hard to become much better, a really competitive side in the GFNL.

“Coaches need support, it doesn’t matter where you are.

Lachlan Grima and Max Chambers. Picture: Mark Wilson

“I’ve had fantastic support from the club, but this is another level of support, and it’ll just allow me to focus more on coaching and Steve will get the other side of things into place.”

Henderson also says the club needs to bring in more experience and bigger bodies next off-season, following the departure of Mitch Day and Dan Weigl to the Ammos.

In the interim, he’s praised the efforts of Banjo Hickey, “very consistent” Tom Gunther and Kyen Burrill-Grinton.

“We’ve got three or four really good key players, young players,” he said.

“Then you’ve got some experienced guys like Sam Purdy and Darby (Henderson) and Aaron Stone that are leading the way, at training and on field.

“Certainly, we need some bigger bodies and we probably need a couple of key forwards, a couple of key backs.

“That would make a huge difference to us.”

However, another big opportunity awaits on Saturday at Bisinella Oval.

The Cats have the chance to seize their first win of the season against fellow battling GFNL club North Shore, and first since downing the Seagulls by 57 points in Round 12 last year.

Despite the lack of success, Henderson is philosophical about where things are at.

Lara’s Tom Gunther. Picture: Mark Wilson

“Everyone’s going through things, and at the end of the day it’s a game,” he said.

“It’s probably more about, for me, is how their lives are also going off-field.

“If a part of their life is OK, then all we ask is to have some resilience around two to three hours every Saturday and to turn up and train and try and get better.”

While the challenges have been numerous, developing an extremely green playing group and teaching them about “the mechanics of the game”, has been a highlight of the season.

“I can’t fault the group, huge numbers on the training track every Tuesday, Thursday,” he said.

“The want and attitude to get better from the group is evident.

“We’re quite open with each other and really connected as a group.

“There’s lots of good things happening in these players’ lives, and we’ve broken it right down into small little wins and we’re ticking a lot of boxes.”

Originally published as Lara coach Brett Henderson is determined to find the silver linings in a winless start to the GFNL season