Michael Long is one of the most exciting players playing the game today. He has incredible pace, a body made out of elastic (hence he is sometimes called the rubber man) and unbelieveable skills by hand and foot. He came to the club in 1989 and immediately made an impact, being named the Best First Year Player in that year. He wore number 4 originally, but asked to have number 13 to honour his father (I guess 13 is lucky for some!). The highlight for Long came in the 1993 finals series. He played outstanding football throughout the finals and capped it off winning the Norm Smith Medal for best on ground in the Grand Final. Not long after the highlight came the lowlight, in the following pre-season (1994) he suffered that chronic injury footy players dread - the knee injury. It sidelined him for the whole year, a disaster after he had played so well in the '93 finals. When he made his return in Round 1 this year, all the football world stood up and took notice. He was arguably the best on ground, and he didn't look like a player who had just spent a year out of football. His form has continued throughout this year, indicated by his 16 votes in the Brownlow this year, the most by any Essendon player. It included five best on ground performances, more than any other player in the competition!
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