Matthew Ling

Matthew Ling (born 21 April 1999) is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Sydney Swans in Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited by Sydney Swans with the 14th draft pick in the 2017 AFL draft.^[1][2] After his release from the Swans at the conclusion of the 2021 season, Ling returned to the area he was drafted from to play for Geelong VFL.

Matthew Ling
Personal information
Date of birth	(1999-04-21) 21 April 1999 (age 26)
Place of birth	Geelong, Victoria
Original team(s)	Geelong Falcons
Draft	No. 14, 2017 AFL draft, Sydney
Debut	25 July 2020, Sydney vs. Hawthorn, at Sydney Cricket Ground
Height	184 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	79 kg (174 lb)
Position(s)	Defender
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2018–2021	Sydney	4 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2021.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early football

Ling played for the Geelong Falcons in the NAB League for two seasons, picking up 250 disposals in total for the second season, where he played 14 games.^[3] He also played for Vic Country in the AFL Under 18 Championships for the 2017 season.^[4][5]

AFL career

After an injury-plagued first two years which saw Ling limited to just 16 games in the NEAFL for the 2018 and 2019 seasons, Ling debuted in the 8th round of the 2020 AFL season, against the Hawthorn Football Club.^[6][7] Ling picked up 10 disposals, 3 marks and 2 tackles on his debut.^[8] Ling was delisted by the Swans at the conclusion of the 2021 season.^[9]

Statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of 2021^[10]

Legend

G	Goals	K	Kicks	D	Disposals	T	Tackles
B	Behinds	H	Handballs	M	Marks

Season	Team	No.	Games	Totals							Averages (per game)
				G	B	K	H	D	M	T	G	B	K	H	D	M	T
2018	Sydney	19	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2019	Sydney	19	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2020[a]	Sydney	19	3	0	0	20	6	26	5	2	0.0	0.0	6.7	2.0	8.7	1.7	0.7
2021	Sydney	19	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Career			4	0	0	20	6	26	5	2	0.0	0.0	6.7	2.0	8.7	1.7	0.7

1. The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.