Sydney defender Zak Jones will plead his case for a switch to the midfield in 2019
SYDNEY star Zak Jones will once again plead his case in the off-season for a switch to the midfield. But until then, he is happy doing exactly what his coach tells him.
Sydney
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SYDNEY star Zak Jones will once again plead his case in the off-season for a switch to the midfield.
Jones, 23, had the same discussion with coach John Longmire last summer, to no avail, but is preparing again to push for a more prominent role.
Longmire was up front with Jones about his desire for him to stay in defence this year, and once the decision was made, the hard-nosed competitor got on with the job.
In Jones’s view, the off-season is for negotiating, the season is for playing.
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Jones has a year still to run on his contract at Sydney and, despite making no secret of his desire to play in the midfield, he is adamant he sees his future at the Swans regardless of Longmire’s response this time.
A victim of the Swans’ overflowing midfield stocks, Jones has carved out a specialist role for himself at the back and, as Longmire forecast in January, he will be a key in Saturday’s elimination final against Greater Western Sydney at the SCG.
It’s not a matter of make-or-break for Jones, but just like his edgy approach on the field, he is no shrinking violet.
“It’s completely up to John really. I’m happy playing my role, but at the same time I’d love to get in the midfield,” Jones said.
“If it’s my time to go in the midfield, I’ll take that, but if it’s not, I’m happy with that too, as long as I’m playing my role.
“It’s more pre-season — we did a bit more midfield stuff and the conversation was about then. Horse (Longmire) said to me, ‘You’re probably going to play a bit more back’, and I think you just roll with how it goes.
“Things change pretty quickly in this industry.
“In season you don’t really push it too much, but definitely in pre-season there’s a few jokes out there that you throw out that I’m trying to push into the midfield a little bit.
“But he says, ‘We need you down back’, so I’m happy with that.
“I signed a two-year deal and I was pretty happy with the Swans. I’m definitely happy here and I see my future here for sure.”
Jones has spoken previously about the tightrope he walks with a poor record at the tribunal, saying it was about trying to see through the red mist.
He said he would prefer not to have a bye week before the finals but sensed Sydney had grown in belief from its performance against Hawthorn in Round 23 without Lance Franklin and Luke Parker.
“We definitely challenged a great team without those players in and it was good to show that,” Jones said.
“We don’t look at (having players out) at all as an excuse, we just focus on what we could have done better to actually win the game.
“We’ve brought people in this year who just play their role, and they keep their spot, and that’s a good thing.”
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