Despite playing senior football in his debut rookie year, Lin Jong refuses to get ahead of himself - instead using the exposure as a benchmark to how much he still wants to achieve.
The modest 19-year-old said there was still a lot of hard work to be put in before he is regularly challenging for a spot in the senior line up.
“I guess that kind of helped to know where I was at a bit, I’m still not getting ahead of myself though - I still have got a lot of work to do,” he said.
“Hopefully I can just take the most out of it, use it in VFL and then hopefully get another game.”
Working closely with defensive line Assistant Coach Rohan Smith, Jong has spent the pre-season adapting to a more defensive role in the back six, to compliment his onball experience.
While his courageous exploits will be of great benefit as a defender, the coaches have also spent time teaching him how to be smarter when attacking the contest – to be more aware of his surroundings and prevent him from sustaining an injury.
“The [defensive] craft has been good, it’s a different side of footy that I’m not used to because I have never played down back… another string to add to my bow,” he said.
“Smithy he’s been good, he’s really positive – always tells me to be confident and stay positive.
“They tell me to still be courageous but in a smart kind of way, so yeah, I will try to do that.”
The appointment of Graham Lowe as High Performance Manager coincided with Jong’s first full pre-season which he said was tough but beneficial.
“[This] pre-season… was my first full one so it was really tough, but everyone has managed to keep up and the intensity has been really good,” he said.
“With Graham this year, it’s been a lot different compared to last year, it’s been tough – the difference would be they don’t pull us out of any drills anymore now we are in our second year.
“We have done a lot more running this pre-season, so we are a lot fitter and we have focused on our skills a bit more.”
As Jong approaches his second year at the Club, the courageous onballer said he felt a lot more at home at Whitten Oval.
“Especially on the London trip, we’ve all gotten a lot closer, so that’s really helped out,” he said.
“It’s a lot less daunting, I’m more comfortable with everyone this year.
“It’s still a bit new [and] I’m still getting used to it but it is a lot better.”
