Matthew Ling

Matthew Ling (born 21 April 1999) is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Sydney Swans in Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited by Sydney Swans with the 14th draft pick in the 2017 AFL draft.[1][2] After his release from the Swans at the conclusion of the 2021 season, Ling returned to the area he was drafted from to play for Geelong VFL.

Matthew Ling
Personal information
Date of birth (1999-04-21) 21 April 1999
Place of birth Geelong, Victoria
Original team(s) Geelong Falcons
Draft No. 14, 2017 AFL draft, Sydney
Debut 25 July 2020, Sydney vs. Hawthorn, at Sydney Cricket Ground
Height 184 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 79 kg (174 lb)
Position(s) Defender
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2018–2021 Sydney 4 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2021.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early football

Ling played for the Geelong Falcons in the NAB League for two seasons, picking up 250 disposals in total for the second season, where he played 14 games.[3] He also played for Vic Country in the AFL Under 18 Championships for the 2017 season.[4][5]

AFL career

After an injury-plagued first two years which saw Ling limited to just 16 games in the NEAFL for the 2018 and 2019 seasons, Ling debuted in the 8th round of the 2020 AFL season, against the Hawthorn Football Club.[6][7] Ling picked up 10 disposals, 3 marks and 2 tackles on his debut.[8] Ling was delisted by the Swans at the conclusion of the 2021 season.[9]

Statistics
Statistics are correct to the end of 2021[10]
Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2018 Sydney190——————————————
2019 Sydney190——————————————
2020[lower-alpha 1] Sydney 1930020626520.00.06.72.08.71.70.7
2021 Sydney191——————————————
Career 4 0 0 20 6 26 5 2 0.0 0.0 6.7 2.0 8.7 1.7 0.7
  1. The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

References
  1. "Matthew Ling". Footywire. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  2. "Draft Wrap: Ring-a-ding-Ling". Sydney Swans FC Media. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  3. "Matthew Ling". Aussie Rules Draft Central. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  4. "Draft pick beckons but focus on Falcons flag". Geelong Advertiser. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  5. "Pick 14: Matthew Ling". Sydney Swans FC Media. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  6. Pegan, Martin (24 July 2020). "Three years on, Swans' forgotten first-round pick will debut". AFL Media. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  7. Wu, Andrew (24 July 2020). "'Perseverance and resilience': Long wait over for Swans top pick Ling". The Age. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  8. "Round 8 • Sydney Swans v Hawthorn - Player Stats". AFL. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  9. "Swans quartet commit". Sydney Swans Media. 17 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  10. "Matthew Ling". AFL Tables. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
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