The former Deni Rams junior was set to play his third season with Werribee in the second-tier competition, which was set to include seven teams and begin on August 1.
However, the Victorian Government’s announcement that metropolitan Melbourne would go into a six-week lockdown forced the AFL to reconsider its reduced VFL season.
VFL clubs and their players were informed of the decision on Wednesday.
‘‘The writing was on the wall when case numbers were going up,’’ Henderson said.
‘‘The government had listed all of those areas in Melbourne that were going into lockdown and we knew it was coming.
‘‘It was still devastating. I had all of this hope of the season getting started and it was announced that we would be able to play, and just like that it was gone.
‘‘It feels like the year has gone to waste really.
‘‘But I’ve just got to swallow this bitter pill and move on.’’
After the VFL announced in June that the season would go ahead, Henderson rushed back to Geelong from his family farm in Blighty specifically to return to training at Werribee.
While he could return to the farm, Henderson is likely to stay put in Geelong for the moment.
‘‘I’ve still got uni to concentrate on so there is no point in dwelling on the fact that the season is cancelled.’’
AFL Victoria is still working through ways it can highlight some of the best VFL talent later this year to expose them to AFL recruiters ahead of the NAB AFL Draft.
It is rumoured that a Young Guns series is starting to take shape for the state league’s mature-age draft hopes.
‘‘If this is true I’ll be jumping at this opportunity,’’ Henderson said.
‘‘Right now I’ll concentrate on staying fit and working on parts of the game that I feel I need to improve on.
‘‘Werribee will also send us a fitness program to stick with in the coming weeks.’’
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