Lachie Henderson to fight for his spot at Geelong before starting contract talks

Lachie Henderson and Geelong will delay contract talks as he faces the prospect of being squeezed out of the Cats’ defence for Round 1, while Gary Ablett and Harry Taylor also have decisions to make.

Lachie Henderson and Geelong will delay contract talks until later in the year as he faces the prospect of a Round 1 selection squeeze.

Henderson is not yet a Round 1 lock in defence given Harry Taylor’s exceptional pre-season and the Cats determination to play Mark Blicavs, Jack Henry and Jake Kolodjashnij.

The 29-year-old has had another interrupted pre-season but made strong recent progress to play as a key forward in the club’s JLT series clash against West Coast on Friday.

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He will be hoping to find room in the back six or potentially play as a leading forward alongside Tom Hawkins and exciting young talent Esava Ratugolea.

But with Tom Stewart, Jed Bews and potentially Zach Tuohy (knee injury) also likely Round 1 defenders, the Cats will face tough match committee issues.

Henderson’s 2018 season was ravaged knee issues, the ex-Carlton swingman playing just seven games and winning only 10 possessions in the elimination final.

He comes out of contract in October at the end of his fourth year with the club and player want to ensure he is up and playing regular football before talks begin.

Lachie Henderson wants to focus on footy before starting contract talks. Picture: Michael Klein

Gary Ablett will wait until deep into the season until he makes a decision on his future but there is a real possibility this could be his last season in football.

Ablett finishes the second year of his contract at Geelong this year and will assess his form as a forward before considering whether to play on into 19th season.

He turns 35 on May 14, with his performance this year in a role predominantly as a small forward to determine his future beyond 2019.

He will hope to add forward pressure in an attacking six that could include Tom Atkins and Gryan Miers as well as new recruits Luke Dahlhaus and Gary Rohan.

Harry Taylor is also out of contract and turns 33 in June but after being severely hampered by plantar fascia last year has had one of his best pre-seasons in recent years.

Gary Ablett will assess his form as a forward this season before deciding his future. Picture: Michael Klein

The Cats will go into the Round 1 clash against Collingwood with Rhys Stanley as the lead ruckman given Zac Smith’s lingering knee injury.

Smith injured his medial collateral ligament a fortnight ago and might need another month of rehab before he hits the track.

Rhys Stanley had emerged as the club’s clear No.1 ruckman late last year before getting injured and missing the losing elimination final.

He strongly outperformed mature-aged Cats recruit Darcy Fort in the JLT clash against West Coast, winning 70 ranking points, 12 disposals and five hitouts to advantage from his 19 hitouts.

Fort was able to direct only one hitout to advantage to the Cats midfielders from his 12 hitouts and won seven disposals in 61 per cent game time.