AFL By The Numbers: 45 Cameron Ling
45
Cameron Ling.
Midfielder for the Geelong Cats.
Ling was a star full forward prospect when teams made their selections for the 1999 AFL draft. But he was thought to be too slow and a little short for that spot in the AFL, so he slipped a bit in the draft until Geelong selected him at pick number 38.
The Cats did play Ling as a forward at the start of his career before deciding that the midfield might be the spot for him. While he didn't add any speed to their midfield he did provide a big body and he surprised more than a few people with how much of the football he could get. In his third AFL season he topped 400 disposals and ever since then he has been over 500 disposals every year.
Ling has also shown the ability to totally shut down a player in the middle. Geelong have a lot of players who can get the ball but they didn't have a real stopper in the middle until Ling took on the role. Geelong's current win streak has been possible due to Ling dominating players like Kerr, S Burgoyne, Dal Santo and other AFL stars.
Ling used to be known as a player with only a left foot, he has improved his right foot since the start of his career. In his first AFL game he had the chance to win it for Geelong but instead of kicking the winning goal with his right foot he was brought down in a tackle as he tried to wheel around onto his left.
The Cats might have thought that Ling was just going to be another player in the long line of forwards they tried in the days after Gary Ablett the original. They got a lot more as Ling is a very important player in one of the best midfields in the AFL.
Cameron Ling information:
189cm, 94kg
Official AFL Profile
Wikipedia entry
Number 44
Cameron Ling.
Midfielder for the Geelong Cats.
Ling was a star full forward prospect when teams made their selections for the 1999 AFL draft. But he was thought to be too slow and a little short for that spot in the AFL, so he slipped a bit in the draft until Geelong selected him at pick number 38.
The Cats did play Ling as a forward at the start of his career before deciding that the midfield might be the spot for him. While he didn't add any speed to their midfield he did provide a big body and he surprised more than a few people with how much of the football he could get. In his third AFL season he topped 400 disposals and ever since then he has been over 500 disposals every year.
Ling has also shown the ability to totally shut down a player in the middle. Geelong have a lot of players who can get the ball but they didn't have a real stopper in the middle until Ling took on the role. Geelong's current win streak has been possible due to Ling dominating players like Kerr, S Burgoyne, Dal Santo and other AFL stars.
Ling used to be known as a player with only a left foot, he has improved his right foot since the start of his career. In his first AFL game he had the chance to win it for Geelong but instead of kicking the winning goal with his right foot he was brought down in a tackle as he tried to wheel around onto his left.
The Cats might have thought that Ling was just going to be another player in the long line of forwards they tried in the days after Gary Ablett the original. They got a lot more as Ling is a very important player in one of the best midfields in the AFL.
Cameron Ling information:
189cm, 94kg
Official AFL Profile
Wikipedia entry
Number 44
that is all i wanted to say. just wanted to display my lack of wit. haha