It's Rambo Hendo!

Big John Henderson has revealed he will get fired-up as ‘Rambo Hendo’ for the William Hill World Championships by watching Stallone movies. The Highlander kicks off his latest title assault against James Richardson or Mikuru Suzuki at the Ally Pally next Thursday. But the Huntly hurler admitted that he loves a bit of downtime watching Stallone to get him in the mood for a battle on stage. He said: “I love a wee bit of Stallone, I have to say that. I like to have a practice, have a good throw then take a break and watch Rambo or Rocky. “I can watch them over and over again, I never get bored of them. It definitely gets me ready in a good way to play on stage. I think it’s the passion of it all. “I take my iPad with me whenever I’m away from home. It’s really important on the European tours because telly in Germany is rubbish. So I just take a break watching Stallone movies. “When I’m still at home I will always work really hard practising and then get some time away from it by watching my local team Huntly FC. “I get down to Christie Park as much as possible to support them. Midweek games are obviously best for me because most weekends I’m away.” Hendo, 46, will play either Vindaloo walk-on king Richardson or Suzuki at the Ally Pally, either will be tricky. Richardson once dumped out Raymond van Barneveld while Suzuki is the current Ladies World Champ. He said: “It will be tough against either. I once played Stacy Bromberg in the Grand Slam and it was one of the hardest matches I’ve played because the crowd were all on her side. I did win 5-2 in the end, but it wasn’t an enjoyable experience. “Mikuru is a very good player and so is James. I kind of expect to play James but we’ll see what happens. “I feel good about the Ally Pally now. I had a bad run there for a while. But everyone talks about my celebration when I beat Daryl Gurney a year or so ago, I did go mad a bit. But that was sheer relief to get through. “It’s all about getting through to that following week after the second round. You don’t want Christmas ruined by going out at the first hurdle.” Hendo also admits he is still buzzing after the “greatest night” of his life in Aberdeen as a Premier League contender earlier this year. He revealed: “Being a Contender in the Premier League earlier this year was unbelievable, probably the greatest night of my darting life. “I still get emotional thinking of it right now. To then get that reception and get a draw with Michael van Gerwen was incredible. What a night. “Next year it’s the opening night of the league and the new venue holds 11,000 I think. If that was the noise for me with 4,000, imagine almost that trebled! “Perhaps I need to guarantee my place by winning the Worlds, then as a major winner they’d have to choose me! “On my day I’ve proved I can beat anyone, I’ve done it to Michael and then Daryl Gurney in the Worlds. “I feel good right now, my practice is great and I’ve been working really hard. Now I’ve just got to go and prove what I can do on stage.” By Phil Lanning (@lannomedia) Photography courtesy of Taylor Lanning (@taylanningpix)