Former Colac ruck Henry Walsh departs the club, moves to Lismore-Derrinallum

A Colac star has suddenly left the club in the middle of the pre-season, moving to a different competition in a shock move.

Colac ruck Henry Walsh has left the club. Picture: Mark Wilson

COLAC will be forced to rely on the services of veteran ruck Lochie Veale in 2023 after Henry Walsh suddenly departed the club during the pre-season.

There were inklings of Walsh’s departure since Colac’s shock early finals’ exit, but co-coach Rowan McSparron declared the big man was committed to the club in 2023.

Walsh had returned to the Tigers for pre-Christmas training, but decided in past weeks to exit the finals contenders’ program and sign with Lismore-Derrinallum in the Mininera & District league.

Henry Walsh has left Colac for Lismore-Derrinallum. Picture: Mark Wilson

Tigers co-coach Darcy Lang said it was a shame to lose Walsh after just one season, with the ruck moving across from St Joseph’s after winning the club’s 2021 best and fairest.

“Henry is living out in Lismore and so he’ll play his footy out there, he works on a farm and it was going to be too hard for him to get to training and all that sort of stuff,” he said.

“He couldn’t commit to the season and we expect people to be able to train and commit to sessions and especially every single game, and unfortunately we couldn’t get that out of Henry.

“With what was happening with his work there were a lot of unknowns, so when he came to decide where he was going to play his football it was at Lismore where he was living.

“It’s a loss for the club, he’s a quality person so it’s disappointing but we understand life comes first.”

Walsh averaged 25.2 hit outs per game in 2022, playing 14 games for the season and taking over the number one ruck duties from Veale.

Zachary Zdybel will take on some ruck responsibilities in 2023. Picture: Mark Wilson

Lang said Veale would play on in 2023, while there were other players available to take on ruck duties.

“Vealey is definitely around the club again and will play on,” he said.

“Zach Zdybel is a ruck that has played well over the last few years, so he can play in that role if we need him to.

“Darcy Howard is another one of our rucks that played multiple games last season, so we’ve got a few different things in place, so we’re going to fill that void as best we can.”

Originally published as Former Colac ruck Henry Walsh departs the club, moves to Lismore-Derrinallum