Lachie Henderson's swingman days appear over, with the Carlton tall now content to settle in attack.

Henderson's versatility has seen him thrown between defence and attack for much of his seven-season career, which began at the Brisbane Lions from 2008-2009.

In the second half of 2011 and 2012, the former Geelong Falcon played predominantly in defence, but in 2013 he was recast as one of the competition's 'it' players – the swingman.

Along with players such as Harry Taylor and Ben Reid, Henderson was assigned key defensive roles one minute and thrown forward to give the Blues an attacking spark the next.

Henderson juggled his varied responsibilities with apparent ease, finishing a career-high third in Carlton's best and fairest award.

But with Sam Rowe stepping up last year to share the Blues' key defensive duties with Michael Jamison, Henderson spent nearly all of his time on the forward line.

Jarrad Waite's departure to North Melbourne in October's free agency period means Henderson is almost certain to stay there in 2015.

The 25-year-old remains happy to play anywhere Blues coach Mick Malthouse asks, but told AFL.com.au he feels he's found his football home in attack.

"I suppose I have to (regard myself as a forward) now with 'Rowey' and 'Jamo' going so well," Henderson said.

"I haven't heard the term swingman whipped out for a while. It was thrown all over the place in 2013, but yeah, I see myself as a forward."



Lachie Henderson on the training track in late December. (Photo: AFL Photos)



Waite's decision to accept a two-year offer from North Melbourne means Henderson looms as the Blues' most likely forward-line leader in 2015.

Henderson was disappointed by Waite's departure, saying the veteran forward would leave a hole on the ground and around the club. But the former Lion is confident the Blues have the key-position depth to cover Waite's absence.

"I probably am one of the more senior boys down there with 'Waitey' leaving, but 'Jonesy' (Liam Jones) and 'Tutty' (Jason Tutt) have had years of experience at the Bulldogs, Levi (Casboult) is coming off a very good year, Tory Menzel the same," Henderson said.

"We've got a lot of attacking options down there, so it's going to be a great year and a lot of fun down there, I think."

The Blues could also add former Giant Kristian Jaksch and returning ruckman/forward Matthew Kreuzer to their forward line mix.

Henderson says the Blues will use the pre-season to work out how best to use Jaksch, but thinks the youngster's strong performance in Greater Western Sydney's win over the Blues in round 14, 2014, could be a guide.

"He dominated me and Waitey last season, so maybe playing him as a backmen is the way to go," Henderson says.

Similarly, Henderson says it might take the Blues a while to work out how to get the best out of Kreuzer when he returns from the foot injury that decimated his 2014 season.

But he is adamant 2007's No. 1 draft pick will return to his best in 2015.

"He's one of those blokes that you can put anywhere and you're going to get 100 per cent out of him," Henderson says.

"And you're going to get a great tall and a great small as well, pretty much – he can play anywhere. I think we'll see him in the ruck, down forward, we might even see him down back, who knows?

"He's someone who's been in the system a long time, he understands how to play the game and the way he's training at the moment he'll be ready to go, which will be nice.

"I think we'll be seeing the best of Matthew Kreuzer next year."