ALMOST no one knew who Liam Jones was when he was training clients and signing up members behind the front desk in Kingscliff, but the two guys running the gym in the sleepy coastal town, just south of the Queensland border, knew exactly who he was when he turned up one day in early 2022.
Former Essendon and Fremantle enforcer Dean Solomon and ex-Brisbane wingman Matthew Kennedy own The Gym at Salt, which has since expanded to Victoria. They coached against Jones when they worked in the football department at the Gold Coast Suns, and they are both still tracking him from afar.
Jones had moved to the Tweed Heads region with his partner after opting to walk away from a lucrative contract at Carlton, rather than adhering to the AFL’s vaccination policy at the time. He signed with Palm Beach Currumbin in the QAFL and quickly started terrorising forwards playing for Labrador, Noosa, Surfers Paradise and Aspley.
When the AFL updated its vaccine mandate requirements that July, the door swung open for Jones to return to the top level. Gold Coast and Brisbane tried to convince him to keep playing in the Sunshine State, just with them instead. Other clubs came for him. But the Western Bulldogs convinced Jones to return to the Whitten Oval, almost a decade after he left for a fresh start at Princes Park.
Now almost two years after returning as an unrestricted free agent, the 33-year-old is at the peak of his powers, the anchor defensive piece in a side poised to make another deep September charge under Luke Beveridge.
"I feel like this is definitely where I’m meant to be. I've got a lot of love for this club; they gave me the opportunity when I was 17 to live my AFL dream. It is pretty amazing that when I was 31 they gave me another opportunity so many years later. I will be forever grateful. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else," Jones told AFL.com.au this week.
"Last year I got back into the swing of things with new players and new coaches, while trying to get up to speed with AFL footy. Last year went really quickly and finished prematurely. I feel more settled this year, which has shown with my relationships. Got the privilege of being in the leadership group this year. I feel like I've really put my feet under the desk for a year and feel really part of the club, part of the system, created some great relationships with the players.
"I've really enjoyed the move. I think Daniel Pratt has been great for me, as Rohan Smith was last year, with them making slight tweaks in your game. I’ve always seen change as an opportunity to improve."
When Jones packed up his life and headed north, the defender was at peace with his decision to retire, despite resurrecting his career at the Blues. He finished top-ten – 8th, 5th, 7th, 6th and 9th – in the five John Nicholls Medal counts after being converted into a defender, before he walked away. Evidently, he had much more to offer.
"When I was making the decision, I had to be content with what I'd done. It is hard to say, but at the time following the decision and through the start of the year I was content. That was it for me. It was amazing circumstances that forced the decision and I was happy and content with that," Jones said.
"When the phone started ringing and opportunities started to come and I thought: 'Wow, I wonder if I've still got it?' I think it's just given me more perspective. I feel like I've always been someone with a good perspective, but this has given more perspective and gratitude now. I've been very lucky and continue to be lucky."
Jones finished fifth in last year's Charles Sutton Medal, despite missing four games due to a fractured forearm, which cost him a shot at a maiden All-Australian blazer. He has been in the top bracket of intercept defenders again in 2024, recently recovering from an MCL injury without missing a beat.
When Jones was sidelined at the end of June, an unlikely figure stepped up. Rory Lobb was moved back a week earlier after Aaron Naughton returned. Beveridge couldn't drop him, so the coach shifted him. It has been one of the positional switches of the year. The former Greater Western Sydney and Fremantle ruck-forward has been rated elite for AFL Player Ratings, marks, intercept marks and intercept possessions across the past six weeks, following a move reminiscent of the Jones switch in 2017.
"It is a crazy turn of events, the way it came about. The last drill in training (before the game against North Melbourne, Lobb) got the pat on the back to come back. I thought this is good. It reminded me of when I got the pat on the back to play back at Carlton. Then he came in and had such a great impact against the Kangaroos," Jones said.
"I remember after that game I went up to him and said to him, 'You could play your next 100 games as a full-back or centre half-back, who would have thought that a week ago?' It brings back some memories; that change helped me stay in the game and gave me a new career, basically. It looks like it is doing the same thing for him. I'm sure he will get better and better from here for him.
"I feel like as I felt many years ago now: he has a new lease on life. He is an open book now. It makes sense. He is playing with such freedom. I have been really happy for him that he has got the opportunity. He can obviously play forward and in the ruck and I feel like every position helps every position. He is strong and athletic and quick and makes you think why didn’t we try him here earlier?"
Jones is at the business end of his 15th season in the AFL, but is yet to play in a final. Only eight players in VFL/AFL history have played more games without playing in September. Gold Coast veteran David Swallow holds that unwanted record on 238 appearances, after overtaking the late great Trevor Barker this year. But Jones is on track to play finals football for the first time in his 200th game next month.
The Western Bulldogs have won their past four games and six of seven to recover from a 3-5 start to 2024, reaching August as one of the form teams in the AFL with three rounds to play. But Jones isn't looking beyond Sunday's twilight fixture against Adelaide at Adelaide Oval. The Dogs are seventh and haven't been in the top-four since 2021. Anything can happen from here.
"This is the best team atmosphere I've experienced in terms of winning," he said. "We are just really balanced at the moment. We've got superstars in our team, but everyone is playing their role. There is value in everyone's position. It has really helped us. We need to keep our head down and bum up heading into the last part of the season because we have been playing well, but we are still seventh on the ladder. It’s not like we’re on top and clear of everyone. We need to carry the momentum and keep doing what’s put ourselves in this position."
That sums up Jones. He turns up every day of every week, watches what he eats and when he sleeps. No one is at the club’s new $78 million facility more than the veteran. He is always in the ice bath, sauna or on the massage table.
Jones hasn't had a drink since last year's Mad Monday, but there might be celebratory beverages to come next month for one of the most important players in the game right now. One who spent most of 2022 driving across the New South Wales-Queensland border, signing members at a gym when he wasn't running strength and conditioning classes early in the morning, while dominating in the QAFL on weekends.
