The Geelong Football Club has its roots in the country and it’s those country roots which brought Lachie Henderson to the Cats.

The 26-year-old key defender grew up on a small farm some 60-odd kilometres west from Geelong in the picturesque town of Birregurra and spent much of his childhood travelling the region of south-western Victoria with his father Ian – a local vet based out of Colac.

“I spent a lot of time out on farms with him,” Henderson said.

“We had a lot of horses. We had a cow called Bessie [and] my mates growing up were out on farms as well.

“I spent all my time out with them and with dad, helping out and going with dad on certain calls when he went out.”

Henderson found himself a long way from Bessie and Birregurra when he was taken at pick 8 by Brisbane in the 2007 national draft.

In 2009 he was traded to Carlton and played 102 games with the Blues before making his way back “home” to the Cats for the 2016 season.

The defender will now represent Birregurra and the south-west on Saturday afternoon at the MCG when he lines up for the Cats in a clash with Essendon as part of the inaugural Powercor Country Program, and he says he dreams of getting back to his country roots once his career has come to an end.

“I’d love to have some acreage … maybe a few more than what we had when I grew up with five acres, maybe a hundred or so,” Henderson said.

“I’d like to think I could’ve made it as a farmer. It’s probably what I would’ve been doing if I wasn’t playing footy. I probably would’ve gone up and jackerooed somewhere up north and did that."

“It’s something I really enjoy and something I just love getting back to."

“Everyone grows up differently and everyone finds their way. We just had a great time with what we had and that was motorbikes and trees and dams and we just had a great time doing it."

“I just had a great time growing up on the land and I can’t wait to get back to it.”