BENDIGO Pioneers and Geelong Grammar midfielder Noah Long is grateful for the injury that ruled him out for a few months this year. It might seem a strange way to put it, but for the 177cm, 73kg talent, maximising his time of the sidelines to learn a new position, and a new perspective, helped him take his game to another level.

Naturally when first going down with injury, Long was “frustrated and annoyed” knowing he was set to face significant time on the sidelines in what was the most important season of his football career to-date.

“For me it was taking the positive out of it kept me going forward,” he said. “Whether it was for the first couple of days it was more disappointment and anger but going forward it was more just about how can I get better and how can this make me a better person and a better player going forward. I just tried to flip the injury side of things into a positive and something that can make me better rather than make me worse and angry.”

Long certainly did that, spending most of his time alongside the brains trust at Geelong Grammar. During his long stint on the sidelines, the switched on youngster was in charge of interchange rotations for his school. Gaining a greater insight into that role, as well as the coaches thoughts from the boundary line, Long took plenty out of that experience.

“I got a bit of an insight into what it’s like to run rotations and just how the coaches think during the heat of the game,” Long said. “That was another area that worked out quite well this year, just having the insight of coaches and their sort of view, because at the end of the day, that’s who knows footy the best at the end of the day it’s the coaches. It was good to pick their brains and get their insight as well.”

After serving his off-field apprenticeship, it was time for the teenager to make his long-awaited return to the field. Confessing his endurance had stalled due to the injury layoff, Long found himself inside 50, where he spent plenty of time as a forward, particularly for Vic Country at the AFL Under 18 Championships. Admitting he would not have had as much of an opportunity to play that role, it is what made him “grateful” for the injury.

“I’ve actually been grateful with it now looking back on it, because it gives me that another opportunity hopefully at the next level to get my name on the board early in the year whether that’s as a mid or as a forward, I can see myself as a forward, I can see myself as a bit of a 50/50 either way,” Long said.

“Developing that forward craft, and it’s hard and I’ve put a bit of time into it, so I want to use it going forward, you want to be able to show people what you’ve worked so hard for. I’m quite grateful for it to have that other string to that bow, that I’m not just a midfielder, I can also go down forward as well.”

Long still sees his number one position as a midfielder, but the Geelong supporter said he is more than happy to ply his trade as a utility, or even as a full-time forward if that was what helped him achieve his dream. Though the Vic Country prospect still needs to improve his endurance having returned to the frame “underdone” after 12 weeks off, it is a focus he is working on, understanding the importance of a high fitness base.

“As a high half-forward you have to be able to work basically as the hardest on the ground, and from a midfield stuff you have to be able to cover the ground a bit better as well so it will help you in every aspect of the game, and I think for me at the next level it’s just developing my overall fitness to help me be a better player,” he said.

That being said, Long has also focused on improving the major selling point to club – his hands. He has particularly honed in on a Brownlow Medallist who plays a similar role.

“I’ve taken quite a deeper look into Lachie Neale this year and what makes him so good, and it’s his clean hands that are second to none,” Long said. “I’ve really been naturally gifted with clean hands in a sense, but I’ve really pushed that this year and developed that even more going forward. For me it’s my cleanness and that cleanness at the ground level in my hands, and my kicking as well which is I’d also say is another strength.”

Though Long is a “pretty happy man” after Geelong’s premiership-winning campaign this year, the country kid has no qualms about playing anywhere, including interstate.

“I think the move for me down to boarding school has really helped me in that sense that I can fend for myself in that way and I can look after myself and I’m quite independent already and those skills lend themselves into potentially getting drafted next year,” he said.

Long is expected to come into consideration midway through the draft, and while he is no certainty to be picked up, has made the most of his chances, both on and off the field for the Bendigo Pioneers, Geelong Grammar and Vic Country.