Thanks Thanks:  1
Likes Likes:  1
Results 1 to 6 of 6
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Wherever the dogs are playing
    Posts
    60,856
    Post Thanks / Like

    Lin Jong keen to fly under the radar in season 2017 after last year’s headlines

    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.”
    FFC: Established 1883

    Premierships: AFL 1954, 2016 VFA - 1898,99,1900, 1908, 1913, 1919-20, 1923-24, VFL: 2014, 2016 . Champions of Victoria 1924. AFLW - 2018.

  2. Thanks GVGjr thanked for this post
    Likes WBFC4FFC liked this post
  3. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Posts
    32,301
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: Lin Jong keen to fly under the radar in season 2017 after last year’s headlines

    Here's hoping the player best on ground in the VFL GF is seen week in and week out this year and beyond.
    Rocket Science: the epitaph for the Beveridge era - whenever it ends - reading 'Here lies a team that could beat anyone on its day, but seldom did when it mattered most'. 15/7/2023

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Doglands
    Posts
    39,482
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: Lin Jong keen to fly under the radar in season 2017 after last year’s headlines

    Quote Originally Posted by bulldogtragic View Post
    Here's hoping the player best on ground in the VFL GF is seen week in and week out this year and beyond.
    Despite some flaws in his game I think we are all very hopeful that he makes it as a regular senior player.
    Western Bulldogs Football Club "Where it's cool to drool"

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Mulligan's Boogie-board
    Posts
    13,681
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: Lin Jong keen to fly under the radar in season 2017 after last year’s headlines

    Quote Originally Posted by GVGjr View Post
    Despite some flaws in his game I think we are all very hopeful that he makes it as a regular senior player.
    He certainly has that burst speed our other mids lack, combined with his size we can find ways to use him well.
    Can take a decent grab in the forward 50 too
    Western Bulldogs: 2016 Premiers

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Posts
    27,890
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: Lin Jong keen to fly under the radar in season 2017 after last year’s headlines

    I agree with what he says about him visiting Colingwood's facilities and all the hoo-hah it caused. We can't expect players to leave decisions about their future to a two week window while they are supposed to be on holidays anyway.

    The system we use at the moment is like being a little bit pregnant. We can't quite bring ourselves to admit that a player might have half an eye to his future while he is giving his best for the colours at the moment.
    Have you been reading those Roddy Doyle books again, Dougal!?


    I have, yeah Ted, you big gobshite

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Doglands
    Posts
    39,482
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: Lin Jong keen to fly under the radar in season 2017 after last year’s headlines

    Quote Originally Posted by Mofra View Post
    He certainly has that burst speed our other mids lack, combined with his size we can find ways to use him well.
    Can take a decent grab in the forward 50 too
    He tends to pop up and kick a goal when needed as well.
    Western Bulldogs Football Club "Where it's cool to drool"

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •