More than 20,000 people live in this town outside Geelong. Its footy team just folded

3 weeks ago 4

Brett Henderson is a coach without a team after Lara sensationally withdrew its seniors and reserves football sides from the Geelong Football Netball League on Monday night following an exodus of players.

Henderson blamed restrictive salary caps and player points systems for the struggling club’s inability to be competitive.

Senior coach Brett Henderson and president Chris Spence of the Lara Football Netball Club. Lara’s senior and reserves sides have gone into recess for 2026.

He said stronger clubs in competitions across the state were continually poaching players from their weaker opposition, compounding the imbalance.

“Lara footy club should be a powerhouse,” Henderson said. “It is a town of 20,000 people and now there’s no footy club. It’s a sad day for country footy.”

AFL Barwon, which governs the GFNL, released a statement on Monday saying Lara’s senior and reserves sides would go into recess for the 2026 season.

Lara’s senior footy sides won’t be running out in the 2026 season.

The club was first established around the 1880s and has been a long-time member of GFNL, considered one of the strongest football leagues in the state.

Lara, which is about 16 kilometres north-east of Geelong, finished 11th of 12 last year, winning just one game.

But the club will field a woman’s side, as well as teams in GFNL’s junior and netball competitions this season. The club’s junior team numbers rank among the top 10 across the region.

“We were in a really good position at the end of last season,” Henderson told this masthead.

“We’d re-signed our really high-quality, top-end players, and then we recruited as aggressively as we possibly could. We went to Darwin. We didn’t leave any stone unturned.

“But as time went by, the players who signed contracts felt that we weren’t going to be competitive, so they sort of stood off a bit and didn’t want to be really involved with the club.

“It just became harder and harder with numbers and then guys starting to lose a bit of interest, and it just compounded.”

Henderson, who was appointed at the end of 2024 for two years, said it did not come as a surprise when the decision was announced on Monday night.

“Reality was probably staring us in the eyes,” he said.

“You could sort of feel the heaviness of the playing group that were training, and the coaches, too. It sucked a fair bit of enthusiasm out of the majority of people.

“We were prepared to hang in there as long as we possibly could. But just after the last couple of training sessions, you’d be mad to think that we could be competitive in the Geelong league.”

Lara Football Netball Club president Chris Spence was contacted for comment.

The GFNL has a salary cap of $120,000. The competition also operates a total player points system in which clubs have a capped number of points – players are rated from one to five based on their experience and whether they came through the club’s junior system.

“We lost two of our most talented players to a side who played off in a prelim,” Henderson said.

“My take on it is that if those players are going to be recruited within the league, they should be worth eight to 10 points.

“And there should also be some sort of a transfer fee because otherwise it’s just becoming too easy for these top sides to pick off your talented juniors, and if it happens year-on-year, it’s pretty difficult to put out a competitive side.

“I understand they want success, and those clubs want to stay successful, but seriously, it’s at the detriment of the sides down the bottom.”

Henderson said the problem was happening in leagues across Victoria.

He has coached at Swan Hill, Echuca, in the Riverina, and has been a development coach at Williamstown and Port Melbourne, as well as coaching the Bendigo Pioneers for two years.

Henderson was not sure what his next steps would be.

“I really don’t know,” he said. “I suppose for me, it is trying to ensure that the welfare of the current players, who have still been training and turning up and doing the right thing, that their welfare is first and foremost, and we can transition them to another football club.”

AFL Barwon chair Ashley West said the region remained optimistic that Lara could rebound.

“Local football and netball are stronger with a sustainable and competitive Lara,” West said.

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