Originally from the Tiwi Islands, Malcolm Lynch spent three years on the Western Bulldogs list before a bad run of injuries saw him delisted at the end of 2009. The 22-year-old considered giving up his football dream and heading back to Darwin before being offered a traineeship at the AFL. "I admit I was sort of lost in terms of weighing up my situation, whether I wanted to continue footy or be involved in footy or go home. I called Jason Mifsud, who is the head of the AFL Foundation. He was also my development coach when I was down at the Western Bulldogs in my first year and he brought me in and we had a chat about what I wanted to be involved in. I probably wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for his support. He’s been a big help and support in terms of my transition at being at an AFL club. Most players after they get delisted they think that it’s the end of the world and this has given me a different perspective."

Lynch has been working with the AFL Foundation and the Qantas KickStart indigenous program but recently headed over to South Africa as a mentor with the Flying Boomerangs, a group of young up and coming indigenous footballers. "While I was at high school I was lucky enough to be involved in the inaugural Flying Boomerangs camp which tours South Africa. Being a mentor is such an important role to play in terms of not just their transition to footy but life in general and I think the KickStart programs really do this. It's not really a program that just enhances footy ability - most of the kids do have that - it's more about after this camp and going back to their communities and being leaders themselves."

After moving from the Tiwi Islands to Darwin at a young age, Lynch eventually moved to NSW where he boarded at St Ignatius College in Riverview. Despite the big rugby union culture at the college, Lynch stuck to his AFL roots. "It was pretty much always footy for me. The school I went to was predominantly a rugby union school, so it (changing codes) did cross my mind, but every time I went back home up to Darwin and played in the NTFL it was just footy. I did have a chat to my family about it once, but rugby coming into the equation wasn’t the appropriate way up there. It was certainly difficult in terms of recognition. There wasn’t as much when I started out in Sydney but as the years went by the sport got more recognition and, with the Sydney Swans winning the premiership in 2005, it provided something in Sydney."

Living away from his family, Lynch developed his own support network in Sydney and his aunt and his best friend’s mum were huge influences on his journey to an AFL career. "While I was there she (his aunty) took care of me. She probably still does. From time to time she rings up while I’m down here. She was probably a big influence on me in terms of obviously getting through school and with footy and so forth. One of my best mate’s mum, she looked after me while I was in Sydney as well - she was like my footy mum and she would take me to games. Actually, one year at school she was my coach and we won a grand final. She was really good. It was under 14s but we won a premiership and I guess from there it stemmed to possibly a future in footy for me at the highest level."

Despite being delisted, Lynch hasn’t given up on his dream of playing AFL with some solid performances in the VFL for Port Melbourne that are sure to catch the attention of recruiters. "I know I’ve got plenty to offer in terms of playing at AFL level. I’m not going to be too stressed out in terms of whether it’s going to happen or not. I think I just need to focus on how I play footy and I guess it will handle itself. I’m pretty optimistic in terms of my approach this year and we’ll see where it takes me. I’ve probably got more confidence now than I’ve probably had in a while. I guess the setbacks have provided me with more motivation more than anything. It’s provided me with more motivation to strive towards possibly getting picked up next year."