The Long road pays off for Bathurst AFL talent

Originally published in the Western Advocate.

WHEN making the switch from the Central West AFL to the AFL Canberra first grade competition Bathurst talent Paul Long knew he faced a challenge, but it is one that he has certainly risen to.

In fact Long has surprised himself in how quickly he has adjusted the top flight in the nation’s capital, his efforts given a strong endorsement when he was named in the ACT representative squad.

The former Bathurst Bushranger now has the opportunity to further test his skills against sides representing AFL Sydney on June 11.

Long, 24, has been a standout in a struggling Gungahlin Jets team this season and was the only player from the side included in the ACT squad.

The initial list of 35 players for the representative outfit will be trimmed down to 23 over the coming month.

Long will have regular training sessions – which began yesterday – to try and prove himself worthy of being part of the final group.

The versatile midfielder said representative selection had not been on his radar.

“I definitely didn’t expect it. I hadn’t even thought about selection until the team came out. It was a pleasant surprise because I actually didn’t think that I was playing my best footy. I was obviously playing better than I thought,” he said.

“The Jets have been a really great club to play for. They were really welcoming right from the pre-season.”

Long still lives in Bathurst and makes the trip to Canberra each weekend to play for the Jets.

It is not the first time he has ventured beyond the Central West to further his talents.

Long has previously enjoyed stints in Sydney and Melbourne and is finding the Canberra experience very enjoyable. He’s come to love travelling to the nation’s capital alongside one of his former Bushrangers team-mates.

“The travelling at first was a bit hard, but I had Nathan Belbin from here coming down to play as well and we alternate the trips between us. Once the team got onto me asking if I wanted to play, I told them there were a couple of other guys who would be interested,” Long said.

“It always makes it a lot easier when you’re down there together and not playing by yourself.”

As well as catching the attention of representative selectors, Long has also impressed Jets coach Jacob Mennen.

He said the Bathurst player has helped the club take on some stiff competition.

“He’s a good player and has brought a lot of really great things to the club. It’s no surprise at all to see him selected,” he said.

“He’s brought that extra bit of experience to the team and that’s something we’ve lacked in our side over the past couple of years. He’s got a great work ethic and sets a great example for the younger players.

“We had a rough game on the weekend, but in our other games we’ve managed to be really competitive. Along with Paul and the other guys, we’ve been showing strong signs.”

Mennen said the battle to make the cut in the AFL Canberra representative team will be a hard one for Long, but added he thinks the Bushrangers graduate has the skill to make it.

“It’ll be hard for him. Being from Gungahlin there’s a bit of a perception that no good players come from there. Fingers crossed that he’ll go well and show them all that we can have players make it there,” he said.

“We’re still a young club who have moved up into the top division. In the past years we’ve struggled to compete, but this year we’ve got some good recruits [like Long] helping us.”

Written by Alexander Grant.