‘Business move’: Ollie Henry opens up on Pies exit, Cats’ surprise flag push

Cats young gun Ollie Henry says there’s no bad blood with Collingwood nor “jealousy” after watching his former club win the premiership last year.

Henry departed the Magpies at the end of 2022 just two years after the club drafted him with Pick 17 in the 2020 National Draft to return to his home city Geelong and reunite with older brother Jack.

Despite missing out on the possibility of winning a flag last year, Henry acknowledged “you never know who’s going to win it” in any given season and had nothing but love for his former side.

“I was rapt watching some of my friends get a premiership medal knowing the work they put in. They all deserve it and I would never take it away from them,” the 21-year old told foxfooty.com.au after Geelong’s Gather Round win over the Western Bulldogs last Saturday night.

“I was never bitter about it and happy to see friends and connections I built there get reward for their hard work.

“There was no jealousy or resentment or anything like that. It’s not who I am.”

Henry fell out of favour in Collingwood’s senior team in the second half of 2022 before making the decision to head to the Cattery in a move met with some criticism given the proximity between Melbourne and Geelong.

But he was still on good terms with his ex-teammates and other members of the Pies, having organised to catch up with some in Adelaide during Gather Round.

“I’m still friends with the boys there. Not only my old teammates but staff and physios too,” Henry said.

“Gather Round is great knowing all the teams are here, I have organised to see some of those boys.

“I think the highest of them – they’re great people and characters. I always get asked about my relationship with them, but it was no more than a business move.”

Henry has flourished since joining Geelong as one of the brightest young stars in the competition. He’s booted 50 goals from 26 games in the navy blue and white hoops — including an equal team-high nine goals in 2024 — to emerge as a focal point in Chris Scott’s forward line.

Starring in a talented Cats forward line with weapons everywhere — from the likes of Tom Hawkins and Jeremy Cameron to Tyson Stengle, Gryan Miers, Brad Close and Ollie Dempsey — Henry credited the impact of assistant coach, James Rahilly, who returned to the club this season after three years at Adelaide.

 

“We’ve learned so much having James Rahilly back coaching us. Us forwards have been the beneficiary of some of the philosophies he’s brought in,” the 51-gamer said.

“It brings everyone into the game and the way we’re playing and you see some of the talents come out – Tyson Stengle dancing around and Ollie Dempsey almost taking mark of the year every week.

“That’s the beauty of it, we’ve got so many unique talents and they all come to the fore when we have our practices in place.”

Undefeated at 4-0 in fifth place, the Cats have bounced back in a hot start to 2024 after unexpectedly missing the finals last year following their 2022 premiership triumph.

Henry said Geelong was “hungry” and had full faith in its personnel and systems to make another run at the top prize.

“We have the talent, people and system capable of going all the way. We’re hungry this year and that’s a driving factor to our success,” he said.

“We just have to put our heads in the moment weekly and control what we can.

“In terms of me coming here, I knew it was a very stable and successful environment over the years with some great people to learn off and immerse yourself in.

“It’s been a pleasure so far and I’m really lucky to be learning off some of these great players.”

For years the Cats have been written off due to their ageing list only to consistently go deep in finals including winning it all in 2022.

Though only four games into this season, Scott’s side has again surpassed expectation to look like one of the big improvers, maybe even a flag contender.

It’s been helped by the development of the likes of Henry, Dempsey, Max Holmes, Tanner Bruhn, Sam De Koning and Jhye Clark in a promising young core leading the club into the future.

“To be honest, I don’t really look at much outside noise,” Henry said of the naysayers.

“You can only feel what you feel. I felt we had a solid pre-season and the group is in good health and good stead to tackle this season.

“If we can keep our motivation week by week, the sky is the limit.”