Hendy speaks out

DOVETON stalwart and assistant coach Ryan Hendy was this week moved to “put the record straight” on the status of his beloved club.
The Doves, who endured a tumultuous summer with the departure of more than 30 senior-listed players, defied the pre-season doomsayers by pushing Keysborough to 15 points in their season-opener on Saturday.
Hendy later sought out Star News Group footy writer Brad Kingsbury for an interview, in which he addressed some of the rumour and speculation that has surrounded the club since last year’s grand final loss to Pakenham.
He said the rebuilding club was determined to be competitive on the field – and united off it – in 2010.
“We’re not going to be as bad as what some people are expecting,” he declared, citing the emergence of a new generation of talented Doves.
“I can’t remember seeing three young kids as good as Corey Phillips, Travis Hendy and Vergim Faik come out of the under-18s and dominate at senior level.”
Doveton’s 18s beat Keysborough by 151 points on Saturday, just a month after reports that the club wouldn’t be able to field an under-18 side.
Hendy dismissed suggestions that the club’s culture had prompted the list of off-season departures, saying the lure of more cash was primarily responsible for the exodus from Robinson Reserve.
He detailed a series of lucrative offers that he had rejected over the summer, including deals for over $1000 a game from three clubs. "I had an interview with Pines. They came out to a job site I was working on and threw bags of money at me, but I didn’t really consider it,” he said.
Hendy also leapt to the defence of former premiership team-mate Clint Wilson, saying he had been unfairly blamed for some of the friction at the club last year.
“The reason we lost the grand final was that we were too old to beat Pakenham, nothing else,” Hendy said.
** For the full Q&A interview with Brad Kingsbury, pick up the Pakenham-Berwick Gazette this week.