Lin Jong hopes to recapture his best form for the Western Bulldogs

[bornadog]

Lin Jong's name returned to the AFL conversation this week, and he was typically humbled and appreciative of an opportunity he feels blessed to have. Yet he knows that being a multicultural ambassador will sit more comfortably if he can become the footballer he wants to be.
Over the last home and away month of 2012, with the Western Bulldogs laid low by injury and the cumulative pain of defeat, Jong entered the AFL scene in a manner that put him in the company of the most eye-catching of rookie arrivals. He threw himself headlong - quite literally - into the fray, and a sport lacking in Asian influence had a new poster boy.


''I was obviously very excited, thinking, 'How did I get here?''' Jong remembers of his round 20 MCG debut against Richmond, and the three games that followed. ''I was trying to stay very humble and just do my best.'' As he backed into and dived under packs, fans dubbed him ''Linsanity''. He let it all wash by. ''You've got to keep your feet on the ground.''
Last season took care of that.


Jong broke a leg in round two playing for Williamstown, and was introduced to the world of the footballer in rehab. When he came back after two months his touch had deserted him. A high he couldn't have imagined at the start of his first season was followed by a year in which half the games he managed were played in the VFL seconds.
''You try not to think, 'I'm an AFL player but I'm playing reserves','' he says, quick to admit that his fitness was down, his form poor, and he was playing exactly where he deserved to be. Soon, his confidence caught the bug and plummeted too.
''Like every other footballer who has an injury, not being a real high profile player you doubt where your spot in the team is. You're not playing, you can't show what you've got.


''I felt like I'd made a lot of improvements and then I came back down, back to the start almost. One step forward, two steps back. I was pretty lucky to keep my spot on the list.''
He drew on what positives he could, forging a bond with fellow broken-leg victim Ayce Cordy. He looked at Shaun Higgins and gave thanks that at least his season wasn't over. At his end-of-year review he was told the coaches still saw something in him.
Jong hit the track for his first full pre-season convinced he'd drawn strength from adversity. ''I thought I grew [in 2013], even not playing games, I thought I grew as a person outside of football, being more appreciative of life.''
The Bulldogs sent a dozen players to Denver for altitude training, big men such as Tom Campbell, Jordan Roughead, Tom Williams and newbie Stewart Crameri. ''I just tagged along,'' Jong laughs. ''I want to do all that I can do get fitter and better.''
At training, he now feels stronger, as if his lungs are holding more air. His brief is clear - Jong will play as a shutdown midfielder in Footscray's stand-alone VFL team, hoping to play the role so well that he'll soon be again pushing for senior selection. ''Even in training I play a run-with role.''


Fitness was one significant area marked for improvement, kicking the other. He is pleased to report a similar upward curve. ''I guess it's just a habit thing - practice makes perfect. It's starting to show.''
He hasn't had anyone come up and say, ''I play footy because of you!'' but Jong appreciates what children ''seeing a face like mine in an AFL environment'' could do to inspire. ''I know when I played under 15s, 16s, there was no other Asian person.''
His East Timorese father and Taiwanese mother are immensely proud - of his football career, and now of the position alongside the likes of Nic Naitanui, Majak Daw and Bachar Houli, as a role model with a focus on the multicultural western suburbs. He is studying primary teaching, convinced at 20 and in his third season that football's mental demands are as acute as the physical, and that ''getting your head stuck in it'' does a young man no good.
He likes teaching because it's a job that can change lives, and is starting to realise he can be just as influential in his day job.


Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-new...#ixzz2smDI2LC4

[bulldogtragic]

Official Humble Pie.

I didn't think reading this 7 months ago he'd be still here come AFL teams post season. His elevation was still skeptical. His finals series was elite. If there was a finals MVP for all teams, he would have won it.

It's easy to raise question, concerns or criticisms. But it's only fair to do the opposite. I was screaming in the last quarter 'Give it Jongy' every 30 seconds or so such was his impact in my view. So I'm just finishing the crumbs of my Humble Pie.

[Greystache]

Dare I say it, the way he played in the finals series was Cooney at his peak. Win the ball in tight and burst away with speed and power. What an incredible September.

[Remi Moses]

He's improving before our eyes. Looked spent a few times in the senior games he played.
Big confidence boost, and looks like someone who works at his game

[westdog54]

Some of those bursts from the centre made me think I was watching a young Chris Judd. And I don't say that lightly. I haven't seen that sort of explosiveness from such a young player in a very long time.

[LostDoggy]

Absolutely love this guy, I'm totally on the bandwagon. Gets dropped for fitness and comes back a f%#}£€¥ monster. Doesn't sook or look elsewhere for more playing opportunities, sticks his head down and his arse up and spends his first finals series leaving every drop of sweat on the field.

True Bulldog. Hope he plays for many years to come.

[LostDoggy]

Amazing! Probably gets the Goss if he slots that set shot in the last. Hopefully his star continued to rise over the next couple of seasons. His level of improvement has been phenomenal.

[bornadog]

Amazing! Probably gets the Goss if he slots that set shot in the last. Hopefully his star continued to rise over the next couple of seasons. His level of improvement has been phenomenal.

31 disposals and some great clearance work. How good were taps from Cordy and his burst out of the centre at vital stages in the last.

[LostDoggy]

Agree re: the bursts. WOW. I think his tagging days are behind him.

[Mofra]

Absolutely love this guy, I'm totally on the bandwagon. Gets dropped for fitness and comes back a f%#}£€¥ monster. Doesn't sook or look elsewhere for more playing opportunities, sticks his head down and his arse up and spends his first finals series leaving every drop of sweat on the field.

True Bulldog. Hope he plays for many years to come.

You need blokes like Jong at the club - if he only ever makes the fringes of best 22, he pushes hard and makes the players around him work harder and get better.

[The bulldog tragician]

Wasn't he hard done by with that free against him for holding the ball (1st qtr)...he had actually burst straight through the tackle with his speed and power but it was as though the umpire had expected him to be caught and blew the whistle anyway.

Jong is going to be a crowd favourite, he's already one of mine. Isn't it strange how we've been bemoaning our lack of an explosive outside runner and maybe he's been there all along. The players who work hard to be better always have a special place in our affections (I also love his parents' joy and enthusiasm for their son). Go Lin, I'm looking forward to seeing your 2015.

[always right]

My new favourite player. Still things to work on for him to cement a spot in the seniors but his two major attributes, power and speed, are a fantastic foundation. The crowd lifted whenever he gathered the ball.....you just felt like something was going to happen.

If he could just get another 10m on his kicks and sharpen his decision making and awareness, he will be something special. He seems to take everything on board to become better and I have no doubt he will continue to improve.

[G-Mo77]

Wasn't he hard done by with that free against him for holding the ball (1st qtr)...he had actually burst straight through the tackle with his speed and power but it was as though the umpire had expected him to be caught and blew the whistle anyway.

Jong is going to be a crowd favourite, he's already one of mine. Isn't it strange how we've been bemoaning our lack of an explosive outside runner and maybe he's been there all along. The players who work hard to be better always have a special place in our affections (I also love his parents' joy and enthusiasm for their son). Go Lin, I'm looking forward to seeing your 2015.

One of many bad calls.

[Scorlibo]

Dare I say it, the way he played in the finals series was Cooney at his peak. Win the ball in tight and burst away with speed and power. What an incredible September.

I like that comparison. It's such a rare weapon to be able to hit full speed off the pack, Jong has it just as Coons does. Hopefully he can continue to tidy up his decision making and second efforts. It seems like the next step for him might be to have those 2-3 possession plays running down the ground, to use his teammates.

[LostDoggy]

Obviously hypothetically as he has just re-signed but if Jong was to enter this year's draft, how high up do we think he would go, would he be a first rounder?