GEELONG has honoured Cats great Cameron Ling by naming its first-to-fourth year player academy in his honour.

The premiership captain was selected by club staff as an aspirational figure for players in the development program to model themselves on, both on and off the field.

All 14 of the Cats in the academy are looked after by Shane O’Bree, Nigel Lappin and Matthew Egan, completing two specialised training sessions a week and another education session away from the full list.

Egan, who returned to the club this season as the head of player development, could find no better role model for his developing young Cats.

“Nigel Lappin, Shane O’Bree and myself went through all the players, looking for someone who fit the values of the young players on the list at the moment and the values we’re trying to drive with them,” Egan says.

“His name will be on the academy forever, so the Cameron Ling academy will be here forever.”

Ling’s ferocious competitiveness and humble off-field persona are the qualities Egan and his development staff are searching for in their young players.

“It worked out to be Lingy through his hard-working nature and his ability to get the most out of himself. He did everything possible to be the player he was and left no stone unturned,” Egan says.

“He was a ruthless competitor, no matter who he played on he’d fight to the death, right to the end to beat his opponent.

“It was the work he did during the week, days off he was always in here looking to improve his game, working with coaches on the finer details of his game.

“The other two values we’re looking for is humility, just how he treated other people around the club, treated people in the community, treated coaches and staff – everyone was the same.”

Ling described the gesture as a special feeling, adding the honour to a long list of acolades and achievements.

“When the development coaches at the club spoke to me about it, I was so honoured and a little bit taken aback,” Ling says.

“It’s really special that the next generation of Cats players, those young players are going to hopefully live and breathe the values that I’ve found so important over my lifetime and certainly over my career.

"To think that many, many generations hopefully, are going to come through and have some wonderful success having started in their first few years at the Cats as part of the academy, it’s a pretty special feeling."

Ling was invited down to GMHBA Stadium to speak to the current members of the development academy and impart some of the wisdom that led to the rich successes of his playing career.

“For some of them that journey is just beginning, for others it’s a year or two in. I’ll urge them to really take this opportunity,” he says.

“To grow and learn and work on all the little things they want to work on, but also not to waste this opportunity.

“Don’t think that I’ve got to hold back because I’m just a young guy. Put your foot forward and say you know what, I want to be out there playing in the AFL team and I want to help influence this team to achieve success. Go for it.

“This will always be a special place for me, but I’ll be cheering them on like so many Cats fans.