Rory Lobb Biography

As Rory Lobb prepares to play against his former team, Fremantle, for the first time since becoming a Bulldog, a group of Dockers supporters have launched a Lobb-inspired beer called 'Lobster Tears', described as having "a slightly salty raspberry sour" taste and sold in cans featuring a cartoon picture of a lobster holding a football and sporting the No.37, Lobb's jumper number at Freo.

Following the departures of several Fremantle players during the 2023 trade period, including Rory Lobb, Blake Acres and Griffin Logue, Dockers coach Justin Longmuir admits he could've done more to keep them at the club.

"Part of my role and maybe a part I didn't do as well as I could have last year, is to sell opportunity to some of those guys and give them a clear explanation of where they fit in our organisation and my vision for them going forward," Longmuir said.

"That's sometimes tricky to do as a senior coach, because … you don't want to make promises you can't keep. I'm always trying to tread that line, but maybe I could have trod that line a little bit better."

Western Bulldogs recruit Rory Lobb says he played out the 2022 season feeling on the outer at Fremantle but confident he gave his all to the club after deciding he would again seek a trade at the end of the year.

"It's been a year-and-a-half I've wanted out, so it was good to get it done, finally," he said.

"You do feel like you're on the outer at times. The boys had full faith that I'd go out every week and play my hardest and do what's best for the club.

"In the end we were able to play finals and win that first final against the Doggies, funnily enough, so it was good to have a good year with the boys considering I wanted out."

Rory Lobb is traded from Fremantle to the Western Bulldogs in the final minutes of the 2022 AFL Trade Period.

The 29-year-old moves to the Whitten Oval in exchange for pick No.30 and a future second-round selection.

"We're thrilled to bring in someone of Rory's ability, who we believe will add significantly to our playing list over the coming seasons," Bulldogs general manager of list and recruiting Sam Power said.

Rory Lobb faces an uphill battle to force his way out of Fremantle during the 2022 Trade Period after the Dockers doubled down on their intention to hold the forward/ruck to the final year of his contract.

"A 206cm key forward who can kick two goals a game and can go through the ruck is very hard to find, so we expect Rory to be with us next year," Dockers list manager David Walls said.

"He's a professional and he'll be able to come back and we'll support him and get him to have a repeat of the season he had this year."

Rory Lobb requests a trade to the Western Bulldogs.

However, Fremantle said Lobb "was informed that given his contractual status and his importance to the structure of the team, a trade would not be possible".

Justin Longmuir says he wants Rory Lobb to stay with the Dockers next year in 2023.

The 29-year-old is in some of the best form of his career, having kicked 29 goals in 15 games this season, and is crucial to the third-placed Dockers' premiership chances.

"I've reassured him that I see him as part of our long-term future, he's contracted for us next year, and he reassured me that he's going to stay in the moment and keep competing the way he's been competing," Longmuir said of Lobb.

After failing to secure a trade for himself in 2021, Rory Lobb won't rule out a move in the future, but for now he's committed to giving his all for Fremantle.

"I just want to focus on this year and get back to the footy I know I can play. The fact that I'm still here and I'm happy to play out my contract and we're all on the same page and moving forward is good. They've made me feel really comfortable and there's no awkwardness coming back into the club," Lobb said.

Rory Lobb will remain a Docker in 2022 after his bid to rejoin GWS during the 2021 AFL Trade Period fails.

Intrigue has grown a proposed move for Rory Lobb's from Fremantle to Greater Western Sydney with his agent Colin Young adamant a deal can be arranged.

It follows Fremantle football boss Peter Bell saying he expected Lobb to remain at the Dockers after a contract between Lobb and the Giants was not at the level expected. Young said he hoped his client would be able to get back to the Giants after three seasons with the Dockers despite having two years to run on his contract there.

"We're in the initial discussion phase. There's been no argy bargy, GWS has asked what it would take, we've put our position forward and we'll try and massage it through," Young said.

Young also added that he was unimpressed that Bell went public with discussions that were supposed to be confidential.

"I was a bit surprised about the content of information that he's been talking about based on that conversation that we'd had. I was certainly surprised the last few days about the honesty of Peter, it sounded like he was at church giving confession, if I'm honest. It was incredible," Young said.

Rory Lobb is set to miss at least the first six rounds of the season despite avoiding surgery on his injured right knee. Lobb's knee twisted at a dangerous angle while being tackled during the Fremantle's AAMI Community Series loss to West Coast.

Sean Darcy has set his sights on shouldering the bulk of the ruck load for the Dockers in 2020 and says training with teammate Rory Lobb has improved him as a player.

"He's a quality player, he pushes me around, I've got to chase him around the whole training session," Darcy said of Lobb.

"I've worked closely with Rory for the whole pre-preason. I'm just trying to pick his running patterns and things like that, to improve as much as I can."

Rory Lobb believes he can form a dangerous partnership with Jesse Hogan and Matt Taberner after all three were restricted by injury in 2019.

"We've only played probably two games where all three of us are up forward, so we've just got to work on our connection, but that will happen once we're out on the track," Lobb said.

"We can all cover the ground pretty well. Those two are really good runners and I feel like I can run pretty well. It saves you running if you've got talls all around the forward line, you can stay off-ball a bit more.

"It's just finding that connection and making sure we're not flying on each other when we're down the line."

Rory Lobb undergoes surgery on his injured shoulder and will begin preparing for the pre-season.

"Rory principally had a shoulder injury, but in fact it's an anchor for one of the muscles of the upper body that comes off the front of the chest," high performance manager Jason Weber said.

"He damaged that bone a couple of weeks ago, he was able to play through but unfortunately, the damage has required surgery. He's had that done and he's now looking forward to a strong rehab period."

Rory Lobb's expected season-ending foot injury is revealed to be not as severe as first thought.

It appeared Lobb would miss the remainder of 2019 after reporting soreness following the thrilling MCG victory over Collingwood.

But Lobb could be back around the time the Dockers host Sydney in round 18 and play a role in the finals push.

"Some great news on Rory. Our initial scans and clinical review indicated that stress was a key factor in his injury," Dockers high-performance manager Jason Weber said.

"A subsequent review with a specialist identified that it was, in fact, an impact injury."

Rory Lobb is ruled out for an extended period of time with a stress fracture in his right foot.

Following Freo's stirring victory over powerhouse Collingwood last week, Lobb experienced soreness in his foot that was eventually attributed to a stress fracture in his fourth metatarsal.

Prior to his injury, the 26-year-old had lined up in every game for the Dockers in 2019 and impressed in the ruck after five seasons at Greater Western Sydney.

"The club will support Rory through this challenge and we know that Rory will rehabilitate his injury with the utmost professionalism," Dockers football manager Peter Bell said.

"Given the recent lower leg and foot injuries to key talls, an assessment of training and medical assessment protocols will be conducted to ensure we are operating at best practice."

Rory Lobb says his decision to choose Fremantle over West Coast was influenced by greater opportunity to play his preferred forward-ruck role.

"I thought that there was not too many key position players at Freo and figured I would come here and build my brand through there," Lobb said.

Lobb admitted he wasn't comfortable when thrust into the lead ruck position for GWS on the eve of the 2018 finals series.

"I just see myself being more effective as a forward. I felt like when I was in the ruck you're wrestling in the stoppages the whole time, I lose that bit of running and flying for my marks," he said.

Rory Lobb is traded by GWS to Fremantle. The Giants gave up Lobb and picks No.14, 43 and 47 to Fremantle while they received picks No.11 and 19.

"Rory is an exciting acquisition for Fremantle and sits in line with our ongoing strategy of attracting West Australian footballers to the club," Dockers football manager Peter Bell said.

"Rory was very keen to continue his playing career at Fremantle. He is a talented player with excellent character, and we look forward seeing him help guide our young up and coming forwards."

Rory Lobb nominates Fremantle as his preferred trade destination.

Despite still being contracted GWS, Rory Lobb's manager says his client will seek a trade back to his home state of Western Australia.

"Rory's been there for five years now and has a really close, tight-knit family back in Perth," Gieschen said.

"If the opportunity comes up this year, he would like to get back.

"If it's not this year, he's out of contract next year and he would like to go back home at some stage."

West Coast officials have met with contracted ruckman Rory Lobb over a potential trade.

Lobb remains tied to the Giants until the end of 2019, however he is being aggressively pursued by the Eagles and Fremantle, with the 25-year-old also set to meet with the Dockers.

"We're aware Rory is meeting with Perth-based clubs and does so with our blessing," Giants head of football Wayne Campbell said.

"However, there is a very strong chance he will play with the Giants in 2019 as he's contracted and happy."

Rory Lobb will be sidelined for at least a month with a back injury.

Lobb was taken to hospital during the Giants' win over Gold Coast in round 12 and was cleared of any significant damage, with the club fearful he had suffered a punctured lung.

But the big man was still in pain during the Giants' bye week, and more scans revealed a small fracture in his thoracic spine.

"The crack is really small but it's in one of those really awkward spots in his back," GWS coach Leon Cameron said.

"We've got to be really careful that it doesn't turn into a bigger issue later in the year."

Rory Lobb reflects on a horror day in the ruck two years ago when he matched up on Todd Goldstein who helped himself to a League record 80 hitouts.

"Obviously I wasn't too happy with that first effort, but three games into my AFL career I wasn't really ready for it," Lobb said.

With Shane Mumford out injured, the Giants are now relying on Lobb to shoulder most their ruck duties for the rest of their 2017 finals campaign.

"My midfielders expect me to either win or halve every contest, so it's going to be a huge battle," he said.

"You've got to mix it up as much as possible, because you don't want an opposition ruckman getting a fix on you or the way you ruck."

Rory Lobb learned quickly about hard work when he left school at 14.

"I had to grow up pretty fast," said Lobb who left school in Year 9 because of relentless bullying and started fly-in fly-out (FIFO) work in the Pilbara and Darwin.

"I was doing a painting apprenticeship but also labouring, building houses and that sort of stuff.

"Sometimes two weeks on, one week off."

But, as Lobb points out, football also has its physical challenges.

"People don't realise how hard the footy world is. You put your body through hell," he said.

"AFL is very hard on your body. A lot harder than the workforce I was in.

"Just to play weekends, it's very hard."

GWS vice-captain Stephen Coniglio says Friday night's on-field spat between Giants co-captain Phil Davis and forward Rory Lobb was a result of the club not performing to its own high expectations.

The heated altercation, at three quarter-time of Greater Western Sydney's 23-point loss at Etihad Stadium, began with Davis shoving Lobb in the chest before veteran teammate Steve Johnson intervened.

The Saints went on to kick six goals to one in the final quarter to overturn a seven-point deficit at the last break that was as much as 17 during the third term.

The incident has been a talking point inside and outside the club since, but Coniglio said there were no lingering issues.

"I probably can’t tell you too much (about what was said) – I haven’t asked Phil’s or Rory’s permission – but I know those two had a very good chat about it first thing on Monday," Coniglio told Fox Footy.

"They were fine with it straight after and I think, with a lot of our performances, it hasn’t been at that high-end level.

"We expect a lot of each other and no doubt Phil and Rory expect a lot of each other and they were probably just highlighting that."

Rory Lobb has cemented himself as a forward in the AFL, but admits he has ambitions to one day be Greater Western Sydney's No.1 ruckman.

"I want to play my career as a ruck/forward, or as a full-time ruckman," he said.

"With my height I'm tending to lean towards going the distance as a number one ruckman, but I love playing forward and I've made myself a position there.

"It's hard because I like the balance of playing both positions and also floating up on the wing as well."

Jonathon Patton says the chemistry between Jeremy Cameron, Rory Lobb and himself in the Giants' forward line will improve further in 2017.

"Myself, Jeremy and Rory were working pretty well together at the end of the year and got some good momentum between us," Patton said.

"We're working really well now in training – because us three didn't really work together too much before 2016 – so to have that full year together is going to help us heaps this year."

Rory Lobb resists the lure to head home to Western Australia by recommitting to Greater Western Sydney until the end of the 2019 season.

"I'm really happy to have re-signed with the Giants," Lobb said.

"As a playing group we took some big steps this year and I think there is still plenty of improvement in us, which is exciting.

"I've grown really close to my teammates and I believe that if we stick together, we can hopefully achieve the ultimate success in the future."

West Coast is expected to ramp up its pursuit of West Australian junior Rory Lobb following star ruckman Nic Naitanui's ACL injury.

"I think both us and Fremantle would be negligent if we weren't looking at Rory Lobb," Eagles list boss Adrian Battiston told Channel Nine.

"We've been hearing that (he may want to return home), but until that's made formal, we're not absolutely 100 per cent sure on that."

GWS coach Leon Cameron says he is not bothered by rumours surrounding future of Rory Lobb.

"Rory (Lobb) was very casual about it, he was a bit shocked as well," Cameron said of the speculation around Lobb.

"Clearly he loves the footy club and the boys love playing with him.

"When a player starts making his mark on any competition, especially this elite competition, then there's going to be speculation."

Emerging Greater Western Sydney star Rory Lobb could seek a shock trade to his home state Western Australia at season's end.

The 23-year-old is contracted to the Giants for 2017, but both Perth clubs have become aware of the potential of him wanting out.

Defenders Adam Kennedy and Nick Haynes and ruckman Rory Lobb, who were all coming off contract at the end of next season, have extended their deals with the Giants until the end of 2017.

"Rory, Nick and Adam have shown great faith in the club and it's a further endorsement of the strong culture we have here at the Giants," chief executive Dave Matthews said.

Rory Lobb kicks a goal in the opening minutes of his AFL debut against Essendon.

"I was pretty nervous when I took the mark and the boys were saying 'You've got to finish off all the work'," Lobb said post-match.

"I just went back and when it came off the boot, I was so happy because I realised that I'd actually kicked it.

"And then I just ran and jumped into (Adam) Tomlinson's arms. All the boys got around me, so I was really, really happy with it."

Rory Lobb makes his AFL debut for GWS with 7 disposals (3 kicks and 4 handballs), 2 marks, 5 tackles, 2 hitouts and a goal in a 15-point loss to Essendon.