“Two questions! Come on!” he shouts with a pointed clap and a half smile.
A blue moon. Halley’s comet. A total solar eclipse.
All things that happen about as often as an interview with Ricky Henderson.
If ever this trend of scarcity was to be bucked, it would have been this year; to continue with the astronomical theme, Henderson has been a star in 2019.
Averaging a career-high 24.9 disposals and ranking fifth league-wide for marks, Henderson, just one month shy of his 31st birthday, has defied logic.
And, as uncomfortable as the wingman may be with the extra attention, he will reach his 150th game this Friday night and that is cause for celebration.
Henderson hasn’t had the typical 150-game football career.
Taken by the Adelaide Crows with Pick 10 in the 2009 rookie draft, the country Victorian had played just three games of football in the previous four years, having prioritised basketball before making the shift.
“It was pretty surreal actually,” Henderson said.
“I was pretty much just playing basketball before that but ended up over in Adelaide.
“It was a lot different to what I was expecting but something I wouldn’t change for the world.”
After a first season spent exclusively in the SANFL familiarising himself with the sport, Henderson then made 12 senior appearances in his second year.
He began to build a reputation as a hard-running half-back with a booming right boot and an ability to defend a variety of shapes and sizes.
But after seven seasons and 90 games with the Crows, he was delisted by the club.
“I was obviously pretty unsure what was going to happen [next],” Henderson said.
“But then it suddenly all happened pretty quickly.
“I had a meeting with Clarko and Wrighty and we thought it would be a pretty good fit for me at Hawthorn, which has turned out to be the case.”
Henderson’s story is the perfect example of the benefit of delisted free agency.
With a second chance afforded to him, he has now become a staple of Hawthorn’s best 22 and a beloved member of the playing group.
