Inside Rory Lobb’s revival: The born-again Bulldog opens up on the turning points that changed everything
Everyone knows the obvious Rory Lobb tipping point – when coach Luke Beveridge recast him on the field. But, as he explains to GLENN McFARLANE, what happened off the field turned out to be just as important.
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Rory Lobb maintains there have been two tipping points – not just the most obvious positional one – behind his extraordinary return to form in a rollercoaster 2024 season.
The one everyone knows about was the magnet switch which saw him go from underperforming forward consigned for a period to the VFL – and possibly a fourth club next year – into a first-time key defender who even surprised himself at how well he adapted to his new habitant.
He has played five games in defence – a position he had never played in before – and already forms a big part of the Bulldogs’ finals charge.
The second tipping point came a few weeks earlier than the switch and it was every bit as mentally challenging as the positional move.
In many ways, it was a much more personal one, too.
It came after his five-disposal, zero-goal performance against the Brisbane Lions in round 13, which saw him subbed out of the game with ankle soreness following some Bronx cheers and intense media criticism on his future.
Speaking to the Herald Sun this week in an extensive interview as the retro-recharged Footscray prepared to take on Melbourne in a Friday night clash, the 31-year-old candidly declared the Lions encounter “the worst game I have ever played in my career”.
The Dogs were systematically shutdown by the resurgent Lions, putting pressure back on coach Luke Beveridge and just as much heat on the 31-year-old forward.
Lobb had only been back in the AFL team for two weeks, winning a spot predominantly in the absence of Aaron Naughton and Sam Darcy.
Most outside observers figured he was almost certainly headed for a fourth AFL club next year, despite two more years of a contract with the Bulldogs.
Lobb owned his poor performance and conceded part of the criticism was warranted. But some of the external narrative hurt, and for the one-time kid who left school at 14 due to ongoing bullying, it wasn’t particularly good for his mental wellbeing.
“That Brisbane game was probably the worst game I have ever played in my career,” Lobb said this week. “It was a Friday night … so there was the rest of the weekend to get through.
“I essentially went back to basics. I just tried to clear my head over the weekend.
“I didn’t look at my phone. I spent time with my partner Lexi and just tried to use the weekend as a real opportunity to reset myself. It was just something I needed to do.
“I feel like over my career I’ve always had a few things going on in the media. I always try not to let it worry me, but sometimes it can get to you a little bit.”
But what followed that week after the Lions game was something that Lobb couldn’t have imagined.
He felt a calmness from his mental refresh and the support coming back his way from the moment he walked into the Whitten Oval on Monday steeled him for the task at hand.
His coach backed him. His coaches formulated a plan. His teammates got around him.
What started out as a moment of vulnerability turned into a strength.
“I ended up having one of the best weeks that I have ever had mentally, which was very surprising as it was one of the worst weeks (he’s endured) in the media,” he said.
“I sort of let everything (negative) go.
“Bevo was getting around me and getting me prepared for the next game. I spoke to a couple of the coaches and I was just looking for some little things to focus on.
“I had my mind racing at a million miles an hour. It was in the back of my mind (that he could have been dropped), but ‘Naughty’ (Naughton) and Sam Darcy weren’t playing, so I knew if I was selected that I needed to perform for the team.
“It was a big game and I was always going to come out firing against the old mob (Fremantle). I felt like it was one of my best weeks (of preparation) coming off one of the worst performances I’ve ever had.”
Lobb was not only selected for the clash with the Dockers in round 14, he kicked three goals and had 19-disposals in a statement-making performance for him and the Dogs.
They have won four of the past five games since going into that game.
‘I’VE NEVER DROPPED SOMEONE OFF A GAME LIKE THAT’
As good as he had played against Fremantle, Lobb – and the rest of the footy world for that matter – figured he would have to make way for Naughton and Darcy the following game.
The Dogs were taking on North Melbourne, and Beveridge – whom Lobb said this week was one of the key reasons why he left the Dockers for the Whitten Oval at the end of 2022 – was ready to take one of those calculated risks he has been famous for.
All of the selection talk changed with a switch of a training bib during a session and a chat to the coach.
In a career sense, Lobb was about to go backwards to go forwards again.
At the training session his name was fixed to the Footscray VFL side magnet board at full forward, but the coach had a message for him – switch training bibs with James O’Donnell.
As Lobb recalled: “He (Beveridge) was like ‘Lobby, I want to try you as a back and see how you go’. It was literally five minutes (before the end of training).
“I’ve always felt pretty connected to Jonesy (Liam Jones). He gave me a crash course (on playing in defence). It was more about backing myself in the air and backing that reach I can have on the ball.
“He (Jones) said to me. ‘Just bring those things that make you a good forward and keep reacting quickly on where the ball is going and that will help you play back’.
“He said to me: ‘You will know when you need to defend’.”
Following that five-minute-crash course – an education path that he is still undertaking six weeks on – he had a conversation with Beveridge right at the end of the session.
“I was coming off three goals and 19 touches as a forward which was one of my better games for the year, and Bevo said to me: ‘I’ve never dropped anyone off a game like that and I would never do it. One of you is going to have to go down and I think you are capable of doing it’.
“That’s how the conversation went. I went straight over to our backs coach Daniel Pratt and said to him: ‘What are we going to do this week, what do you need me to do?’”
BACK TO THE FUTURE
Lobb’s move has coincided with the Bulldogs’ resurgence as a team. He’s not the sole reason, but his form – and the recent return of Jones from injury – has boosted their stocks.
Since round 16, the Bulldogs have been ranked third in the AFL for points against, and first points against from turnovers.
In his own five games in the back half, Lobb has conceded eight goals, having played on some of the best forwards in the game including Jeremy Cameron and Harry McKay.
“I’ve played a lot of roles throughout my AFL career – the wing, a bit on the ball, in the ruck and down forward – so I am loving the challenge of playing in a new position,” he said.
“I am probably looking at a lot more tape now coming into games, I go into a bit more depth now on the opponents I will be playing on.
“Harry McKay touched me up at the start of the game (against Carlton) but I was able to reset at halftime and get him in the second half.
“Playing in the wet helped me a bit against Jezza (Cameron), it made it a bit more of a contest.
“On the weekend (against Sydney), I was getting tangled up a little down the line and Jonesy was the one who stepped in (to help), so I feel like we are working well as a group.
“I’m still learning. There were times even on the weekend when I was not in the position where I was supposed to be, but it is a work in progress. I am learning more each week.”
BEVO, HIS VFL STINT AND WEARING THE NEW DOG-COLLAR
Lobb expects to stay in defence for the rest of the season, barring any other injuries up the field, and understands why the move had to be made.
If some externally felt his stint in the VFL was a sign of tension between him and the coach, Lobb said they couldn’t be more wrong.
“He (Beveridge) was a big reason why I came across to the Dogs in the first place,” Lobb said. “I have a really good relationship with him, as much as you get frustrated when you are not playing (in the AFL).
“But even then I knew we had these unbelievable young forwards and I was the older guy who was there as a helper and to bring some experience.
“The good thing is now I can play in the same team as all three of them (Aaron Naughton, Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and Sam Darcy) as a backman. Bevo has always had faith in me, and I like the way he goes about things. He just lets the media stuff go, and he just gets on with what he needs to get on with, and that’s how I have gone about my footy lately as well.”
Lobb found himself in a bit of a media storm earlier this year when he and his partner had some fun on TikTok about his VFL stretch.
To the soundtrack of High School Musical 2 song, Gotta Go My Own Way, the pair had a caption saying: “POV, he has to play VFL for the rest of his career.”
He said this week that he and Lexi hadn’t meant any offence. It was meant to be tongue in cheek.
“That TikTok stuff was not directed at the club, or the VFL, or anyone really,” he said. “That was just a bit of a laugh at people saying that I would probably never play an AFL game again.
“I know what I am capable of and so does Bevo. We are on the same page.
“I wasn’t playing the footy I wanted to play at the time but to be back in the side now and playing down back has given me a real focus going into games.”
Lobb is confident he still has a lot of good footy left in him, given he didn’t play a lot when he was a kid.
He left school at 14 after being bullied.
His father secured him a fly-in, fly-out job that took him to Tom Price, a mining town in WA’s Pilbara region, and to Darwin and the Tiwi Islands.
“I did get bullied as a kid and that’s the reason why I left school,” he said. “It was a good life lesson. I had to grow up pretty quickly living away from home when I was only 14.”
“It has just made me realise how much I love staying fit and training for a living. I want to keep playing footy for as long as I can.”
Lobb is excited by what is ahead of the Bulldogs in the chase for a potential finals berth, and having played in two losing preliminary finals with the Giants, he is desperate for success.
He is looking forward to wearing the special Footscray Retro Round guernsey, celebrating 70 years since the club’s first flag in 1954.
“I’m really looking forward to pulling on my first collared jumper this week,” he said. “It’s a nice touch to celebrate Footscray’s 1954 premiership team.
“It’s a quick turnaround from last week (against Sydney) but I really enjoy that. We’re excited about getting back out there.”
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