No. 45 Cameron Ling

[CatmanForever]

http://gfc.com.au/portals/0/images/players/cats/Cameron_Ling_small.jpg

Cameron Ling


Fast Facts

Jumper No: 45
Height: 189 cm
Weight: 94 kg
DOB: 27 February 1981
Recruited From: Geelong U18

[thehoff]

http://gfc.com.au/portals/0/images/players/cats/Cameron_Ling_small.jpg

Cameron Ling


Fast Facts

don't put words in my mouth Hoff - CF

Jumper No: 45
Height: 189 cm
Weight: 94 kg
DOB: 27 February 1981
Recruited From: Geelong U18

thoughts of the great man?

[CatmanForever]

by the end of last year I thought he was passed it....but this year he has shown you can't keep a good player down. Finally 100% fit and back to playing the role he does best as a tagger. Linger is back.

[Tonycam*]

by the end of last year I thought he was passed it....but this year he has shown you can't keep a good player down. Finally 100% fit and back to playing the role he does best as a tagger. Linger is back.
Same Catman , even at the start of this year I was still calling for his head , how wrong can we be. Ling is really enjoying the challenge each week and I think he is enjoying having the Geelong people behind him again.
Lingers close to if not the most important man in our side at the moment .
Glad I was wrong, hopefully I can say the same about King

[Mooney_d'King]

Same Catman , even at the start of this year I was still calling for his head , how wrong can we be. Ling is really enjoying the challenge each week and I think he is enjoying having the Geelong people behind him again.
Lingers close to if not the most important man in our side at the moment .
Glad I was wrong, hopefully I can say the same about King

It's so good to see Linger back and doing what he does best!! Nice work Cam!:thumbsu:

[Selwood07]

Has really gone up a notch this year - great to see him kicking a few goals. Easy subject of ridicule - no oil painting/calendar poser, awkward running style - and in 2007 has eradicated many of the annoying things that caused turnovers. Great club man too.

[Big Nasty]

I was one of the supporters bagging him last year, but I dont think it was uncalled for. We all know his best position is tagging, but last year played as a ball winner which he clearly was not.

[Metallica_Man]

AFL Round 11 v Adelaide
Did his job again, tagged Goodwin early until he got injured, then matced up on Edwards and kept him quiet. Kicked a couple of goals and tackled very well

[Metallica_Man]

Copped a few knocks today, he is a warrior that's for sure, but unfortunatley was beaten by Goodes today

[CatmanForever]

Copped a few knocks today, he is a warrior that's for sure, but unfortunatley was beaten by Goodes today


Only had 11 disposals today to Goodes 31. Was the victim of 2 cheap shots one by Goodes (knee into chest during mark) and Leo Barry (shoulder into jaw)....both took their toll on him. To his credit he kept playing on though.

[Bryceson]

Awards/Honours:

Geelong
Best and fairest 2004
Runner up best and fairest 2002, 2003
Third best and fairest 2007
Fourth best and fairest 2005, 2006
Most determined and most dedicated player2005
Most improved player 2001
Most votes in Brownlow Medal 2002, 2003, 2005
Best first year reserves player 2000

AFL
All Australian 2007
AFL Rising Star nominee 2001

TAC Cup
Team of the Year 1999
Geelong Falcons captain 1998

Representative honours
Australia vs. Ireland international rules 2002
Vic Country U18 1998, 1999
Australia vs. Ireland U17 international rules 1998

Premierships
NAB Cup 2006 (Geelong dft. Adelaide)
AFL 2007 (Geelong dft Port Adelaide)

[geelong_boy]

How will Lingy go next year?

Teams will now try to take him to the back-line (eg. Dane Swan in the PF), so why not put him at FF at certain times?

[Bryceson]

How will Lingy go next year?

Teams will now try to take him to the back-line (eg. Dane Swan in the PF), so why not put him at FF at certain times?
he will still be one of the comp's best taggers i reckon, but yes teams will try to curb his influence by doing what swan did.

i think he will play mainly as a tagger, but also as a normal mid and forward at times. he is a known goalkicker, and was drafted as a FF. he is more than handy to put at FF for 10-15 mins a game:thumbsu:

[Bryceson]

Very good game yesterday v essendon. Went somewhat unnoticed with the likes of Ablett, Bartel, Stokes, Corey etc all playing extremely well, but he quietely wen about his business and collected 31 possies, 9 marks, 5 clearances and a goal.

[thejester]

And Jobe Watson got 12 disposals.

[CatmanForever]

THE final siren sounds. You’re five points down. Who would you trust most with the footy in his hands 40m out to win the game?

Carlton full-forward Brendan Fevola or his Essendon counterpart Matthew Lloyd?

Or even Melbourne’s super-smooth left-footer Brad Green?

Try Geelong’s Cameron Ling.

The man they call “Rockling” has an eye like a dead fish.

Ling has not missed a set shot at goal since Round 7, 2006.

Since that one miss in the third term of a Mother’s Day victory against St Kilda, Ling has steered through an amazing 22 set-shot goals without a miss.

Ling has kicked one from beyond the 50m line and two from right on the paint.

Seven have been within 10m of goal, but Ling has been regularly at his most deadly in the 25-40m range.

Overall, since the start of 2006, Ling has kicked 23.1 from set shots—a strike rate of 95.8 per cent.

Carlton goalsneak Eddie Betts, with 18.4 and a success rate of 81.8 per cent, is his closest challenger for set-shot accuracy.

Ling is renowned more for stopping opponents than slotting goals, but his goalkicking feats had their genesis at under-18 level.

He played full-forward for the Geelong Falcons in 1998 before coach Brian Cordy moved him into a variety of roles in 1999 to improve his chances of being drafted.

“He was a fantastic kick back then, too,” Falcons regional manager Michael Turner said yesterday. “In our grand final side in ‘98, we had Jonathan Brown in our side as well and he stood out as a beautiful kick.”

But Ling, who was less than the 189cm he now stands, was the wrong size and shape for a full-forward.

The under-18s is all about producing draftees and catching the eye. Turner and his mates at the Falcons decided Ling needed a makeover.

Ling was not only moved from full-forward, but also had a fashion transformation.

“Nobody was ever going to draft him at that body shape . . . he did have a bit of a big arse,” Turner said.

“You’ve got to sell the product. I was at him all the time to get his hair cut . . . short back and sides to make him look taller and more athletic.

“We even made alterations to his shorts. The bigger the shorts are, the longer they are in the leg.

“I think he wore a size 18 or 20 and I think we shortened the legs to make his legs look longer.

“I can’t remember if we did it or his mum did it.”

Despite confusion over who pulled out the sewing kit, there is no disputing it worked.

Geelong picked up Ling at No. 38 in the 1999 national draft.

Ling, the left-footed premiership hero, has become clinical in front of goal.

Champion Data research shows his secret lies in winning the ball mostly in the corridor.

Ling’s ability to sneak forward and find space is unparalleled.

But it is not as if all 22 have been “gimmes”.

Only three of his shots have come from the right of the goals, the preferred side for a left-footer, with the other 19 from the left.

If only Travis Cloke could be so effective from set shots.

The Collingwood star has kicked 30.39 since the start of 2006.

Unlike Ling, the left-footed Cloke is struggling from the left side. He has kicked 7.19 when not favoured by the natural curve of a leftie.

SET SHOTS 2006-08

BEST 10
Player G B SR
C.Ling GEEL 23 1 95.8
E.Betts CARL 18 4 81.8
M.Seaby W COAST 30 7 81.1
T.Simmonds RICH 21 5 80.8
J.Farmer FREM 44 11 80.0
J.Charman BRIS 24 6 80.0
D.Giansiracusa W BULL 20 5 80.0
P. Bell FREM 18 5 78.3
A.Yze MELB 18 6 75.0
D.Cox W COAST 18 6 75.0

WORST 10
A.Fiora STK 13 13 50.0
H.McIntosh N MELB 11 11 50.0
M.Bate MELB 11 11 50.0
J.Patfull BRIS 10 12 45.5
L.Ablett SYD 10 12 45.5
D.Hale N MELB 19 23 45.2
T.Cloke COLL 30 39 43.5
D.Hille ESS 14 21 40.0
G.Polak FREM 10 15 40.0
S.Armstrong W COAST 10 15 40.0
SR: Strike rate in percentage terms

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/afl/ourteam/index.php/heraldsun/comments/ling_proves_king_of_the_set_shot/

[Hairy Cat Mooney]

Eagle Daniel Kerr to resume hostilities with Cat stopper Cameron Ling

by Jason Shields

Source: Geelong Advertiser, 18Jun08

http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200802/r226832_900470.jpg

WEST Coast star Daniel Kerr will resume hostilities with human blanket Cameron Ling on Saturday night after being declared a certain starter for the Cats' clash.

Kerr missed last Friday's loss to Essendon with a calf injury, but is one of several Eagles' premiership players expected to return to play Geelong at Subiaco. Under fire veterans Michael Braun and Chad Fletcher will also rejoin the squad providing they train well during the week and Beau Waters will come under consideration after serving his two-game suspension.

Kerr had declared himself fit before the Essendon game, only to be withdrawn from the line-up just before bounce down, prompting talk of mid-season tanking from the 2-10 Eagles. But West Coast assistant coach Peter Sumich defended the move, claiming that doctors had ruled Kerr out, and said that tanking was not a tactic that his club would consider despite some discontent from some quarters.
Sumich said the Eagles did not want to risk Kerr as there was a high possibility that the star midfielder would have done more damage to the calf.

But he assured that the skilled onballer would resume his post in midfield on Saturday night where he will undoubtedly be shadowed by his nemesis Ling. Ling famously added Kerr to his giant-killing hit list in round seven at Skilled Stadium last year when he was kept to zero possessions after half-time and just 10 for the match. Ling's role was crucial to the Cats' 39-point win over the previously unbeaten Eagles and gave Geelong the belief that it was the real deal in 2007. The performance prompted Geelong coach Mark Thompson to heap praise on the role Ling played for the Cats week-in, week-out.
"I know he gets a lot of criticism, Cameron Ling, but if there are any Geelong supporters who think he shouldn't be in the team, they are actually kidding themselves, they're not watching footy," Thompson said at the time. "He just knocked over another big star."

The importance of Ling's role on Kerr this Saturday night takes on added importance given the Eagles are now without his midfield support acts in Chris Judd and Ben Cousins.
Although Kerr has had the odd breakout quarter this year where he has torn apart an opposition, he has struggled to sustain the impact due to the focus opposition teams are placing on him.