Lara lands VFL assistant Brett Henderson as new head coach

Lara has found its new coach on a two year deal, joining the Cats with close to 30 of coaching experience under his belt. And he sees plenty of potential at the Cats.

Lara has locked in Brett Henderson as its new coach. Picture: Supplied

Lara has locked in its new senior football coach, signing former VFL assistant coach Brett Henderson on a two-year deal.

Henderson has described the club as a “dormant volcano” waiting to erupt and sees exciting potential at the Cats.

His signing comes after co-coach Shayne Stone and high profile playing co-coach Devon Smith, who played 182 AFL games with GWS and Essendon, made the call in July to step down at the end of the season.

Henderson brings 30 years of coaching experience to Lara, spending the past decade in the VFL and in the Coates Talent League with the Bendigo Pioneers.

There is plenty of potential for recruits given his strong links to Williamstown and Port Melbourne — including his son Darby, a Seagulls VFL player who has played some footy for Grovedale over the past four years.

Henderson coached Williamstown’s development side from 2012-14, led the Pioneers program for two seasons and then returned as head of development until 2022.

Most recently he has been head of development and backline coach at Port Melbourne for the past two seasons.

Having coached at Leeton Whitton and Echuaca previously, Henderson said the community feel of Lara and the younger demographic of the list was appealing.

Lara playing co-coach Devon Smith Picture: Mark Wilson

“That’s one of the things that really grabbed me, just a group of young guys and watching them progress over the next two or three years is going to be really exciting,” Henderson said.

“The sky is the limit as far as I’m concerned and I suppose it is up to the players how much they want to invest in their game — if they do that I’m sure they will see the rewards.

“I suppose being its own town and identity, I thought that was something I’d like to do and be involved in the local community again.

“I think footy is there to be enjoyed and I just really want to tap into the community.

“Lara is a bit like a dormant volcano I suppose, it is ready to go it’s just a matter of putting everything into place.

“As a coach I want the players to go out and enjoy themselves, it’s not about me, it’s about them. I want them to enjoy their footy, so that will be a real focus moving forward.”

Henderson has watched Lara play its last two games, a thumping loss to St Joseph’s and a disappointing defeat to St Albans, so he knows there is some difficult times ahead.

While some would find it daunting, Henderson is excited by the challenge of helping Lara rise up the ladder, but he is aware it won’t happen overnight.

“Won three games this year, obviously probably the next step is to win four next year and see some improvement — hopefully more than that.

“I understand that it will be a big job, but it’s certainly one that is going to offer a lot of rewards along the way.

“There is nothing better than getting a side up and going again.”

Lara president Chris Spence said he is excited to land someone of Henderson’s calibre.

“For our club to attract such an experienced coach to guide our senior squad gives the players and committee huge encouragement. It also reinforces that the hard work done by Shayne Stone and Devon Smith and the rest of our football department to raise our competitiveness, has not gone unnoticed by those outside the club and even beyond the GFNL,” Spence said.

“We also have a solid pipeline of talented youngsters coming through our junior program and are convinced that Brett is the right man to lead our coaching and support team, as we mould our juniors into future senior players.”

Darby Henderson in action for Williamstown in 2021. Picture: Jonathan DiMaggio/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

RECRUITS IN THE PIPELINE

Lara could have a couple of new signings as soon as this week, with Henderson hinting that a couple of recruits are in the pipeline.

But Henderson’s son Darby, a Bendigo Pioneers graduate who has 53 VFL games under his belt, isn’t over the line just yet.

“I’m never confident of getting a straight answer out of him to be honest, but I’ll certainly be putting the question to him,” Hendeson chucked.

“He is certainly one and he has got some friends who are pretty good footballers as well, so we’ll be chatting to everyone we possibly can but making sure they fall under that criteria of being a quality person first.

“There is a couple that are going to come along as part of the journey, but the No.1 thing is they’ve got to be quality people, and they are.”

Originally published as Lara lands VFL assistant Brett Henderson as new head coach