LACHIE Henderson seems almost certain to be at Geelong next season after informing Carlton he wants a trade.
Carlton announced on Thursday that Henderson and the club had agreed it was in both parties' best interests that the swingman now stand out of the remaining three home and away rounds.
Henderson is due to come out of contract at the end of the season and AFL.com.au believes he has decided on Geelong as his preferred new home.
However, the Cats will now have to broker a trade with the Blues, with many expecting they will have to part with their first-round pick to satisfy Carlton.
Carlton football boss Andrew McKay said the club would push for the best possible deal during October's trade period.
"We are obviously disappointed with Lachie's decision to request a trade but we want people who yearn to play for our Carlton jumper and who will accept the responsibility that comes with it," McKay said.
"In consultation with our playing leadership group, it was decided it's in the best interests of the club that Lachie sits out of the remaining three games this season.
"This will allow further opportunity to see how some of our younger players continue to perform at the AFL level.
"Our list management team now has a duty to our Carlton members to get the best possible deal in return for Lachie through the AFL trade period."
Henderson, 25, played 102 games for Carlton after crossing from the Brisbane Lions at the end of 2009 in the trade that sent Brendan Fevola to the Gabba.
The former Geelong Falcon enjoyed a career-best season in 2013 when floating between defence and attack, finishing third in Carlton's best and fairest award.
But he has struggled for fitness and form in the past two seasons when he has played predominantly as a key forward.
Blues coach John Barker revealed on Thursday morning that Henderson would not have been picked this week for the match against Melbourne, even without the trade request.
“Lachie’s been grappling with some sort of decision for a period of time now. His performances have gradually dropped to the point on the weekend where his output wasn’t great. He obviously wasn’t going to be playing senior football for us this week anyway," Barker said.
"He came to the club through this week and talked about the fact that he wanted to move on. We were really clear, we want players in this establishment that want to assume the responsibility that comes with wearing the Carlton jumper. He obviously didn’t, so the decision was fairly easy.
“He just talked about the fact that he wanted a fresh start and he explained the rationale behind that.”
Industry sources suspect that if the Cats can negotiate a trade for Henderson they will play him in defence alongside Harry Taylor and Tom Lonergan.
Speculation has surrounded Henderson's future after he put contract talks with the Blues on hold at the start of this season, saying at the time that he wanted to focus on returning to form.
The Blues remained hopeful of re-signing him up until July, with list manager Stephen Silvagni saying the signs had been positive that Henderson would stay a Blue.
Henderson was the No.8 pick in the 2007 draft and played 15 games in two seasons with the Lions.
