IF LIAM Jones has occupied time in the mind of Chris Scott this week, spare a thought for the coaches at Noosa, Surfers Paradise, Aspley, Labrador and Wilston Grange. One can only imagine what they were thinking when trying to plot a way past him in the QAFL this time last year.

When the 32-year-old walked away from a lucrative contract at Carlton instead of adhering to the AFL’s vaccination policy, and relocated to south-east Queensland to play for Palm Beach Currumbin last year, Jones’ AFL career looked over.

But it wasn’t.

Some predicted he would return sooner than others, but not many could have predicted he would be one of the best key defenders in 2023 after a season playing in the sunshine, a winter wearing shorts and singlets.

The Western Bulldogs tracked Jones during the first half of last season at Palm Beach Currumbin. List boss Sam Power met with him on the Gold Coast in June. He could see that he still had the speed, power and fitness to return, but wanted to check if he still had the desire.

By that stage, two other clubs attempted to recruit the Tasmanian via the Mid-Season Rookie Draft – even without the clarity of a return date – but the AFL knocked them back, months before the League updated its vaccine mandate requirements to open the door for a return.

Gold Coast and Brisbane tried to convince him to remain in Queensland and other clubs tabled offers, but it was the Western Bulldogs that won the race to secure his signature as an unrestricted free agent in October.

Jones worked for former Essendon and Fremantle defender Dean Solomon at his health and wellness centre in Kingscliff in the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, just south of the Queensland boarder, during his time up north. It meant he was ready to roll on day one of pre-season.

Since moving back to Footscray, Jones has put himself in All-Australian contention after a brilliant first eleven rounds of 2023 that has him in the same bracket as Collingwood skipper Darcy Moore, Brisbane co-captain Harris Andrews, St Kilda vice-captain Callum Wilkie, Port Adelaide star Aliir Aliir and Gold Coast young gun Charlie Ballard at the midway point of the season.

“It is time for All-Australian nominations at the moment – that email has just been sent to clubs. Liam is having an incredible year. He is starting to get the recognition he deserves,” Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said on Friday.

“In the past we haven’t had a dominant key back. To have a player making the impression on the game that Jonesy has been having has been really important for us. It was what we hoped for and more.”

Jones has been out marked in just two of his 39 one-on-one contests with his 5.1 per cent mark loss rate ranked No. 11 in the AFL, according to Champion Data.

After emerging as one of the premier intercepting defenders in his last couple of years at Princes Park, Jones is averaging 3.8 intercept marks per game to be ranked equal third in the AFL behind only Ballard and Moore.

He is ranked equal 18th in the game alongside teammates Ed Richards for total intercept possessions.

And when it comes to goals conceded, the former Blue has kept clean sheets on some of the most damaging forwards in the game this year.

Anthony Caminiti kicked two goals on him in round two, but since then Jones has conceded only three goals. Joe Daniher, Harry McKay, Mitch Lewis and Darcy Fogarty have all felt the frustration of playing on the 199cm, 98kg backman. 

Western Bulldogs assistant coach Rohan Smith is one of only a handful of current staff members who was at the club when Jones played 66 games across six seasons at the kennel before moving to Carlton at the end of 2014. Back then, the 2008 No. 32 pick was still a forward, yet to make that dramatic transformation in the VFL in 2017.

Smith, the 300-game club great who now looks after the backline at the Whitten Oval, knew Jones was committed to making the most of an opportunity – one that looked over when he departed Ikon Park in 2021 – when he asked to meet him in the off-season.

“I shot him through a text just saying, ‘I couldn’t be happier that you’re back at the club’. He responded straight away, like instantly: ‘Wouldn’t mind sitting down with you to discuss our system, the way we play because it might be different to what I’m used to’. From the time he got taken as a free agent, he was texting me and ringing me and we went through some edits on how we defend and how it suits the way he plays. He got excited straight away and that hasn’t stopped,” Smith told AFL.com.au this week ahead of Saturday night’s fixture against the Cats.

Barely a week into the main program of pre-season, the Western Bulldogs completed a match simulation session at Skinner Reserve. And it didn’t take Jones long to signal his intentions in the pre-season.

“The very first match simulation we did at the footy club in December he found himself on Aaron Naughton. This is early pre-season, and we have a rule at the footy club that we take it a bit easy in the air at that time, just to look after each other so we don’t get injuries,” Smith recalled.

“Jonesy is so determined and so competitive that he closed the space that quickly and he hit Naughts – not in the head, didn’t take his legs out – but it was the physicality side of a spoil and everyone was going ‘woooooah’ because they weren’t used to that at that time of year but then going this is great.

“Straight away they got an idea of what Jonesy is like, what his mindset is like and how he just wanted to be the best player for our footy club and the best teammate. In the first week of December, that just summed him up from my point of view.”

All-Australian blazer or no blazer, the recruitment of Jones has been a masterstroke by the Western Bulldogs. While all the focus was on the acquisition of Rory Lobb and the departure of Josh Dunkley on deadline day, the man that didn’t cost a pick could prove to be the most valuable recruit of the season.