Opinion The Upside and Importance of Lin Jong

[Scary_Foot_9]

Clearly he played his best game for the club on Saturday night. To me though despite showing flashes of courage and burst in his previous 10 games this (at least for me) looked to be the first time he was comfortable at the level. What he provides for our midfield is an element we don't have otherwise, speeeeeed. Speed by itself will do jack all however, look at Shaun Atley, he needs to have vision and awareness to put it to good use. He needs to know how to get away from his opponent at a stoppage.

On the weekend he showed the ability to do both these things, Bont and Wallis were able to find him with a clearing hand ball over the back several times and he sped away. His pulled kick to Crameri (I'm going to believe it was intentional not off the instep, looked like clean contact on the replay) was one of the pleasing moments of the night he sensed as he charged in side the fifty the WCE players back off to the goal square and trusted that Crameri would sense it to. It proves that he's developing a proactive (rather than reactive which he has been to this point) feel and instinct for the game.

If he can fully or at least further develop this aspect of his game to go with all his other qualities (size, speed, toughness) and becomes consistently damaging it could vault our midfield into a whole other stratosphere. Soon we will be able to both pound you into submission by winning or spliting contest after contest and strike with one swift blow, Bonts is the other midfielder we have that can do this, he just mesmerizes people with his Bontness and suddenly he's galloping in open pastures. Plainly his improvement will just give us more ways to beat you. Soon there will be too many.

 

[Zgope1]

Something I admire about hawthorn is that they get there quick players into paddocks. We did that very well with Jongy and his kicking has been fine and He's good by hand.

Don't get me wrong though his kicking could be better

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

Was discussing this with Igloo earlier - Jong has come a tremendously long way, especially with his offensive game.

As an offensive weapon...just wow. He has come an extraordinarily long way with his positioning. Gets to the right spots in the contests really well. On the weekend there was one passage in particular on the wing closest to me where he just followed the contest (on the defensive side to protect against the break) waiting for the outlet, got it and had 20m of open space to run into and deliver inside 50. His positioning gave him the best chance to impact the play. If the opponent broke away, he would be able to stop him. If his teammate won the ball and got away, Jong would be able to provide support or shepherd the opponent to buy him more time. If his teammate needed an outlet - as he did - he would have a heap of free space and an opportunity to work the ball inside 50. I've never seen Jong be able to make these sorts of positioning decisions at AFL level before, and he did it independently and all night (save for a poor start).

There are still things to work on, though. He can be very, very slow on defensive rotations and needs to be more vocal when he loses his man. Defensively he ran in circles a few times while his man was up field and that's probably my main concern at this point. His decision making under pressure and kicking can also improve, but they're never going to be huge strengths and I'm ok with that provided he keeps improving.

The next step for me, on top of working on his weaknesses, is to translate some of his inside work from VFL level. I think that's one part of his game that hasn't transitioned well yet - but there's still time.

Could be important for us moving forward as one of those solid, damaging role players that every team needs. I couldn't see how he developed enough to offer us something two years ago; now I can see it very clearly. The kid deserves a lot of praise and a lot of respect for the amount of improvement he's been able to show. Let's hope it continues - I think it can.

 

[Bont2Bruce]

He almost goaled after the siren in Q3 and in Q4 played on from a mark about 5 metres closer from which Honeychurch snapped and missed. If he had hit the scoreboard there would have been a lot more attention coming his way. He is clearly not far from doing so though.

Should be a bargain in the Pieman!

 

[Wizard17]

He has the running ability and power that many wish they had and is very important to our midfield structure and he can go forward and provide a marking option as well as take strong marks defensively. If he can learn to get to the right places to take those look out.

 

[immortalmike]

He's put in a tremendous amount of work. Just rapt for him, still has some deficiencies. But I actually have very little doubt he'll clean them up. Best 22 and can be anything.

 

[Dogs_R_Us]

I think he's quite smart which will make him very coachable. Early days but he wants to do well and will fill a role.

 

[Dogsman16]

14 minutes to go in the 3rd and we are down 47 - 62 and Jong reads the ball beautifully off Minson creates huge seperation on WCE midfielders and delivered it lace out to Tom Boyd and the ball just didn't stick to big boydys hands. Thats when I realised that Jong has a spot every week this year due to the damage he can cause. Might not ever be an A grader but at least we have someone who can create serious damage from the center clearance.

 

[threenewpadlocks]

I spent an hour or two doing a highlights video then my computer crashed If I have enough time I'll get around to it. Did a really nice kick into space inside 50 at one point in the match.

 

[fronkalicious]

Has koby beaten at the moment as the bigger, marking mid/fwd. His speed is so so important to us as well. Whether he fits long term with Libba, Wallis, smith, bonti, Macrae and hrovat will be interesting. Still looks like too many poor users of the footy, but he definitely gives our midfield a different look which I like.

 

[Mattdougie]

Not touching this with a barge pole

 

[bresker]

His improvement has been so great I think he can continue his upward trajectory. Also he is as hard as a cat's head.

 

[BRWB]

This was posted on Woof by a poster that I understand is junior coach in WA....got to say I agree with a lot of it..hope Jong can improve.

"This is going to come off as hyper critical of one player - so please let me say in advance that it isn't intended that way.

Lin Jong is not up to AFL standard with regards his football awareness and skill execution. His kicking and handball decisions/execution could have very easily cost us the game yesterday. His effort and attack on the footy/body is supreme. But he is going to remain limited as a player until he gets 'better' in some pretty fundamental areas.

Defensively he is a worry. The mark that LeCras took when Jong was the nearest opponent yesterday was a really poor piece of play. Don't worry whether LeCras was Jong's direct opponent - in that moment he WAS LeCras' opponent and that half hearted jump at the ball without making body contact was real u16's stuff. I didn't like it - and it isn't related to courage as he is as brave as they come - but he played it like he genuinely didn't KNOW what to do. Goal West Coast.

In the last q he ran around like an energizer bunny (which is good) but just seems to kick when he should handball, handball when he should kick and even when he gets it right (the short pass marked by Macrae??) from the wing that was a connection because of an excellent marking effort (fingertips no less!) rather than a player hitting a simple 25m target (which is what it should have been).

My question is this. Is Jong's full throttle approach enough to overcome his pretty obvious decision making/skill issues? Do we believe these elements of his game will improve?

As an aside, I am certain someone is going to quote kicking efficiency stats or something back on me...go for it. Those don't cover the whole 'handballed to a team-mate under pressure when he should have kicked' type errors that I see in his game at the moment. I happily acknowledge his effort and physical attributes are of AFL standard - his decision making and kicking skills are not. My question is, do we sacrifice one for the other and will he get better?"

 

[Dazb86]

Reminds me of Wood a fair bit in playing style but he can find the ball more. Hopefully he develops into a solid dependable player like Wood has become.

 

[Westerndog11]

Beveridge gave him a good wrap on the Sunday footy show about his development and where he has come from (not taking up footy until his teens) and where he can see him going in the future and the panel gave him votes for the game to.

 

[Dav1d]

Defensively he is a worry. The mark that LeCras took when Jong was the nearest opponent yesterday was a really poor piece of play. Don't worry whether LeCras was Jong's direct opponent - in that moment he WAS LeCras' opponent and that half hearted jump at the ball without making body contact was real u16's stuff. I didn't like it - and it isn't related to courage as he is as brave as they come - but he played it like he genuinely didn't KNOW what to do. Goal West Coast.

I don't understand what more he could have done to really stop that, it was a good kick to LeCras and the only thing that he could have done was flail his arms about like a lunatic & hope he knocked the ball away to a non-dangerous area; don't get how that poster can say its real U16s stuff

 

[Mattdougie]

This was posted on Woof by a poster that I understand is junior coach in WA....got to say I agree with a lot of it..hope Jong can improve.

"This is going to come off as hyper critical of one player - so please let me say in advance that it isn't intended that way.

Lin Jong is not up to AFL standard with regards his football awareness and skill execution. His kicking and handball decisions/execution could have very easily cost us the game yesterday. His effort and attack on the footy/body is supreme. But he is going to remain limited as a player until he gets 'better' in some pretty fundamental areas.

Defensively he is a worry. The mark that LeCras took when Jong was the nearest opponent yesterday was a really poor piece of play. Don't worry whether LeCras was Jong's direct opponent - in that moment he WAS LeCras' opponent and that half hearted jump at the ball without making body contact was real u16's stuff. I didn't like it - and it isn't related to courage as he is as brave as they come - but he played it like he genuinely didn't KNOW what to do. Goal West Coast.

In the last q he ran around like an energizer bunny (which is good) but just seems to kick when he should handball, handball when he should kick and even when he gets it right (the short pass marked by Macrae??) from the wing that was a connection because of an excellent marking effort (fingertips no less!) rather than a player hitting a simple 25m target (which is what it should have been).

My question is this. Is Jong's full throttle approach enough to overcome his pretty obvious decision making/skill issues? Do we believe these elements of his game will improve?

As an aside, I am certain someone is going to quote kicking efficiency stats or something back on me...go for it. Those don't cover the whole 'handballed to a team-mate under pressure when he should have kicked' type errors that I see in his game at the moment. I happily acknowledge his effort and physical attributes are of AFL standard - his decision making and kicking skills are not. My question is, do we sacrifice one for the other and will he get better?"

Before anyone says it this was NOT me

 

[Fossie 32]

I don't understand what more he could have done to really stop that, it was a good kick to LeCras and the only thing that he could have done was flail his arms about like a lunatic & hope he knocked the ball away to a non-dangerous area; don't get how that poster can say its real U16s stuff

If its the one I'm thinking of it looked like he could have got to the ball but hesitated - easy to say from the stands I guess.

I reckon things are looking good for him though. A late starter, 24 possies in his first game from memory, BOG in the VFL GF and his best game to date on Saturday. What more can he do.

 

[dogwatch]

If its the one I'm thinking of it looked like he could have got to the ball but hesitated - easy to say from the stands I guess.

I reckon things are looking good for him though. A late starter, 24 possies in his first game from memory, BOG in the VFL GF and his best game to date on Saturday. What more can he do.

Fix Mattdougie's knee.

 

[littlenails]

Jong seems to improve with every game that he plays. His continual improvement has been amazing. I have never before seen a player with so much continuous improvement. He is now a good player, if he keeps up his improvement he will soon become an A-grader. The criticisms that I have seen of him lately are way over the top. Ridiculous really.

Jong has real pace, he can break away from a pack and they can't catch him. He can run and bounce. he can deliver an accurate kick on the run. He is big and can hurt people. He can dodge and weave. He can kick long and accurately. He is just what we need. Him and JJ. They will play better with more experience and more confidence. The cut 'em up kids. Yay go Jongy.

Lets give Jong some encouragement, give him some love let him know that the fans are backing him up.

 

[Mattdougie]

Fix Mattdougie's knee.

If he does that I'm his new number one fan

 

[bresker]

Also he's a 10 game former rookie from a cultural background that hasn't produced many AFL players.

Maybe it's my rose- tinted spectacles but I like to focus on his good points. Sure he 's not Gary Ablett or Luke hodge but give the lad a break. He's in our best 22 and that's an achievement in itself.

 

[ossie_21]

That big rant makes some points, but seriously, who can judge a player after a handful of games on whether they will be a superstar or not? Even Gablett Jnr hardly set the world on fire early in his career, he's turned out half decent...

 

[immortalmike]

Has koby beaten at the moment as the bigger, marking mid/fwd. His speed is so so important to us as well. Whether he fits long term with Libba, Wallis, smith, bonti, Macrae and hrovat will be interesting. Still looks like too many poor users of the footy, but he definitely gives our midfield a different look which I like.

Certainly didn't look like a poor user of the footy on the weekend.

 

[immortalmike]

This was posted on Woof by a poster that I understand is junior coach in WA....got to say I agree with a lot of it..hope Jong can improve.

"This is going to come off as hyper critical of one player - so please let me say in advance that it isn't intended that way.

Lin Jong is not up to AFL standard with regards his football awareness and skill execution. His kicking and handball decisions/execution could have very easily cost us the game yesterday. His effort and attack on the footy/body is supreme. But he is going to remain limited as a player until he gets 'better' in some pretty fundamental areas.

Defensively he is a worry. The mark that LeCras took when Jong was the nearest opponent yesterday was a really poor piece of play. Don't worry whether LeCras was Jong's direct opponent - in that moment he WAS LeCras' opponent and that half hearted jump at the ball without making body contact was real u16's stuff. I didn't like it - and it isn't related to courage as he is as brave as they come - but he played it like he genuinely didn't KNOW what to do. Goal West Coast.

In the last q he ran around like an energizer bunny (which is good) but just seems to kick when he should handball, handball when he should kick and even when he gets it right (the short pass marked by Macrae??) from the wing that was a connection because of an excellent marking effort (fingertips no less!) rather than a player hitting a simple 25m target (which is what it should have been).

My question is this. Is Jong's full throttle approach enough to overcome his pretty obvious decision making/skill issues? Do we believe these elements of his game will improve?

As an aside, I am certain someone is going to quote kicking efficiency stats or something back on me...go for it. Those don't cover the whole 'handballed to a team-mate under pressure when he should have kicked' type errors that I see in his game at the moment. I happily acknowledge his effort and physical attributes are of AFL standard - his decision making and kicking skills are not. My question is, do we sacrifice one for the other and will he get better?"

If it's the poster I'm thinking of he also said that Dayle Garlett was not a risk and teams were soft for not taking him in his first draft year. So while I respect his credentials I'm not sure he's always spot on.
As for the content of the post, yeah there will be times when Jongy looks a little lost defensively, and he'll make the wrong decision with the ball. But to be honest i didn't see much of either on Saturday night, and further with his rate of improvement I can see him eventually being more than competent in both areas.