Cats Hall of Famer to be elevated to Legend status

THREE-TIME Geelong Football Club premiership player Cameron Ling will be elevated to ‘Legend’ status at this year’s club Hall of Fame event.

A premiership captain with the Cats and 245-gamer, Ling was announced as the next Cats Legend by club chief executive Steve Hocking earlier this month at a Gather Round event.

Ling will be officially donned the Legend title in June, after playing 12 seasons with the club from 2000 to 2011, also receiving a club best and fairest award in 2004.

Ling responded to the announcement on his podcast, To The Final Bell, alongside AFLW Cats skipper Meg McDonald, saying he was chuffed to receive the honour.

“It is unbelievably, kind of embarrassingly, an amazing honour,” Ling said.

“It’s fair to say I froze up for a little bit and just needed to collect my thoughts.

“I still can’t believe it. I quickly googled the list of the other 27 legends, and seeing some of the names on that, I rang mum and dad immediately, because I used to go to the footy with them as a kid.

“Seeing names like Graham “Polly” Farmer, Bob Davis, and Gary Ablett Sr, I told dad I didn’t think I deserved to belong amongst that group of people, but I can’t believe I am going to be.”

Ling will become just the 28th Cat to receive the prestigious honour.

He was selected with pick 38 in the 1999 AFL National Draft, and was a key member of Geelong’s 2007, 2009 and 2011 premiership sides.

A St Joseph’s College alum and junior footballer, Ling has maintained close connections with his former school. Ling was also a member of the Geelong Falcons prior to being drafted.

Ling, under coach Mark “Bomber” Thompson and current Cats senior coach Chris Scott, was well-known during his playing days for his durable style of play and grit around the contest.

These traits helped him became one of the AFL’s most recognised midfielders and earned an All-Australian selection alongside eight of his teammates in 2007.

Upon his retirement following the 2011 Grand Final, Ling was awarded the AFL Players’ Association Madden Medal, awarded to a retiring player recognising their outstanding achievements on and off the field.

Geelong’s 1-4 Year Player Academy has been named the Cameron Ling Academy in honour of the soon-to-be-named Legend.