Link



LIN Jong wants to stay out of the headlines in 2017.

He had more than his fair share of them last year.
The Western Bulldogs midfielder made a stunning return last September less than two weeks after surgery on a broken collarbone, having thought medical staff were lying to make him feel better when they told him he would be a chance to play deep in the finals.
He delivered a best-on-ground performance — with tape on the other shoulder — in the VFL grand final.

But a spot in the big dance — which eventually saw a 62-year drought broken— just six days later?
Despite resigning himself to the fact a Grand Final berth would be unlikely, the conversation with Luke Beveridge still stung.
“(Playing in the AFL Grand Final) wasn’t my first thought after the game — I was celebrating the win,” Jong said.
“I started thinking the next day, ‘I feel like I’ve done everything I can.’ At the same time, I wasn’t too optimistic.

“I knew how well the boys were playing and if I came in, someone would have to be dropped. In my head, it was hoping for the best but expecting the worst. I was like, ‘I could be a chance,’ but there was no one to drop.
“Bevo and I had the conversation on the Thursday, and even though I kind of was expecting it, it still hurt a bit.”




He prepared like he was playing, after being named an emergency, and shared beers with his victorious teammates in the rooms after the win.
But he still doesn’t know whether riding the week from the inside made things easier to process, or more difficult to reconcile.

“It was still really special to be involved in that,” he said.
“It’s not like it was just me, me, me.

“I actually don’t know if it was harder or easier being so involved but knowing you’re not going to play unless someone got injured.
“I really enjoyed experiencing it all (but) at the same time, it was still pretty hard.”


It wasn’t really until it was all over that he took a breath and realised the enormity of even being in the mix.
“A few days after (the VFL win) I was talking with my girlfriend and she said, ‘It’s pretty impressive, what you did,’” Jong said. “But to me, it was kind of like I had no other choice if I wanted to be in contention for the Grand Final.
“Everyone seemed to think it’s a pretty good story, at least.”


Jong thought his season was over when he broke his collarbone in last year’s elimination final. Picture: Getty Images


It wasn’t the only story Jong found himself in the middle of in 2016.

It was late June. He was off-contract, and toured Collingwood after dark just days before suiting up for the Dogs.
News got out.

Clubs are allowed to talk to rival players, but visiting the facilities mid-season?
It’s rare, and former Magpies coach Mick Malthouse even said at the time he wouldn’t play Jong for the rest of the season if he were coaching the Bulldogs.

“It was never at a point where I was like, ‘Yep, I’ve got to leave the Bulldogs’,” Jong said.
“It was about opportunity and where I thought I could best develop and grow, and then seeing what other teams had to offer and what they saw in me … that was the main thing. It was never that I have to leave the Dogs.”


Jong took part in the Grand Final parade even though he resigned himself to not playing in the decider. Picture: Alex Coppel

Jong was shocked by the storm his visit caused.
“It took me a bit by surprise with how much it blew up,” he said.
“In American sports, players can move to three teams in a year and no one is really too fussed by it — it’s a lot different in AFL because it’s not really like that.”

“Obviously players talk to different teams throughout the year and keep it under wraps, because the reality is you have to. If you want to keep on playing and want a future and want to weigh up your options, it’s pretty naive to leave that until the end of the year when there’s minimal time.

“You never know how much time it takes and the amount of people you have to speak to, to figure out what’s best.
“When it was happening, it was never, ‘I’m doing something wrong.’ It was never that I needed to go behind everyone’s backs.”



He was overwhelmed by the support from his teammates at the time.
Opportunity was all he wanted, and after the Magpies visit, he played every game.
From there, he wasn’t going anywhere, and after the season he signed a two-year contract with the Bulldogs.

A new season looms, and Jong hopes it’s one that’s fully football-focused.
“(This year is about) finding a consistent level that I can keep playing that and not having too many lapses,” he said.
“With all that stuff last year, I can just focus on the one thing, which is trying to play the best footy that I can.”