Lin Jong: I'm so lucky to have stayed at the Bulldogs

Lin Jong talks about his father, Vitor Jong, fleeing from war-stricken East Timor, eventually finding love with Lin’s mother, Faye Jong, in Taiwan. After finally settling in Australia, Vitor made ends meet as a Melbourne cabbie, learning the routes on the go.Jong found football at a young age, much to the surprise of his mother, who never saw her son play before was drafted by the Western Bulldogs with the ninth pick in the 2012 rookie draft. Jong remains the only player of East Timorese and Taiwanese descent to play in the AFL.The Western Bulldogs assigned then-captain Matthew Boyd as his mentor at Whitten Oval, who helped Jong find his feet at the club and literally learn how to swim. Jong would go on to play 65 games for the Bulldogs, playing in the 2012 and 2014 VFL premierships before cruelly missing the 2016 AFL Grand Final after a collar-bone injury.He describes Luke Beveridge as a “friend first”, but recalls the hair-raising spray he copped from his coach following a tour of the Collingwood Magpies’ facilities in the middle of a season, days before a thrilling four-point win over the Sydney Swans.