Demons skipper was close to walking out
MELBOURNE’S heart-andsoul skipper Nathan Jones has admitted he considered walking out on the club during its darkest hours.
Jones said his loyalty was stretched to its limits during a period when the Demons won just nine games in three years.
“It was like, ‘what’s keeping me here?’,” he said.
“We don’t win, we get smashed and booed and I was thinking, ‘why am I putting myself through this?’.”
Jones grappled with his future before signing a long-term deal at the end of 2014.
“There was times where I absolutely hated playing … coming here (to the club). Knowing you were just going to get smacked all the time … but I think in the end it was more just the drive to change things,” he said.
On Friday night against Hawthorn, Jones will play his fourth final in 262 games.
“There’s always this emotional hook of loyalty and having been through so much, persisting and seeing that out and coming out the other side, because what would be out the other side would be so much more fulfilling and satisfying and joyful,” he said.
Jones built up a vision of what Friday night’s elimination final win over Geelong would be like.
Now that he’s got a taste, the rugged midfielder said he wants more.
“Part of the thing that drove me was to actually see the ground and the team and the club like that,” he said.
“The supporters, former players, former coaches, people that it’s meant so much to over such a long period of time – the whole picture.
“I always thought that the team would be able to get to that point. How long that would take, I never really knew.
“I also knew that once we did start playing a brand of footy that they loved and got in behind, that they would see the scenes that we saw on Friday night.
“That is one thing that has really driven me through some of the dark periods.” DEFENDING premiers Port Douglas have beaten their closest rivals twice in the past two weeks and arguably have their most important player to come back into their side for the grand final.
They were 39-points too strong for Saints in the first week of the finals, just seven days after beating them by 75points.
In their most recent meeting, experienced midfielder Peter Bury acted as the Crocs runner as he nears a return from injury.
The Crocs reigning best and fairest winner may not get the headlines of some of his teammates but the wily veteran will be a crucial inclusion come grand final day, if he was to force his way into their side.
He has the experience on the big stage and after only having 11 games run through his older legs in 2018, he will be fresh and ready to go.
■ Cairns City Lions teenager Tom Lindenmayer was crowned the club’s best and fairest for season 2018.
While Lions flew in plenty of former NEAFL and AFL players this season, the talented Lindenmayer was their most consistent player, being named in their best players on eight occasions from 15 games.
Mitchell Hunter finished runner-up to Lindenmayer at Lions’ end of season count.
Lindenmayer is also a talented cricketer, being one of a handful of Far North cricketers who got the chance to take part in a Pakistan training session when they were in Cairns in 2016.
■ Fellow Lions junior Daniel Charlesworth is set to be the hard luck story of the NEAFL season. The promising defender suffered an ACL tear playing for the Southport Sharks last month, putting him out for 12 months.
The Sharks team beat Aspley 11.15 (81) to 6.8 (44) at Fankhauser Reserve last weekend to book their place in the grand final, to be played this Sunday.