How Western Bulldog Rory Lobb harnessed social media to change perceptions

“We were all the same age living in Sydney together, so the early years were a lot of fun,” he said.

What has changed most, he believes, is professionalism.

“Early days I was just having fun,” he said. “Now I’m a lot more professional with my off-field stuff. But I still like being a big kid around the club. ”

For much of his career, Lobb has drifted between positions and perceptions.

He has played ruck, forward, wing and now defence. Along the way he’s kicked 175 goals, contested centre bounces and moved around depending on his club’s needs.

But perhaps the most striking shift has come in the way he’s perceived.

“I feel like earlier in my career I was misunderstood,” he said.

For Lobb, social media – often a minefield for athletes – has oddly become the tool that corrected that perception.

“I think before I used my socials properly, people would take me the wrong way.

“Now fans can actually see what I’m like as a person. I love interacting with them, having a bit of fun with the hair and all that stuff. It’s been a really good way to connect with the supporters.”

While many players have retreated from social media because of its potential for toxicity, Lobb has leant into it.

“I’ve had dark times with social media like everyone else has, but the positives outweigh the negatives.”

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He traces his resilience further back than his football career.

“I got bullied when I was 14 and I left school. There are always going to be people saying negative things. But there are so many more people supporting you. You just have to focus on that.”

Lobb often returns to a line from American football icon Deion Sanders: “You didn’t make me, so you can’t break me.”

That perspective may have helped Lobb through one of the more unusual AFL career reinventions.

Not long ago, he was a forward trying to rediscover his form just to stay on a list. Now he is an intercepting key defender – and a good one.

Some players joke that defenders are simply failed forwards. Lobb is happy to be in on the joke.

“I say it to myself sometimes! But I’ve kicked 175 goals in my career and I’ve played in the ruck and a few other positions. If I stayed as a forward maybe I would’ve kicked more, who knows.

“But I love playing back.”

The move has played to his strengths: aerial contests, athleticism and the ability to spoil or intercept when the moment demands it.

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The presence of emerging Bulldogs superstar Sam Darcy at training has sharpened his defensive craft even further. Darcy’s towering frame forces Lobb into a different style of contest.

“When you play on Sam you really can’t fly and take marks. You’ve just got to scrap and try to halve the contest. It’s actually been really good for my game.”

What has surprised Lobb most is not that he is still playing well at 33, but how much he still loves the game.

“I love the environment here at the Dogs, I can’t see myself playing anywhere else.”

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That affection has produced one of the more curious wagers in football circles.

At some point, Lobb casually told teammate Matthew Kennedy – who is also at his third club – that he intended to play until he was 40. What began as a throwaway line has since hardened into a pact.

If Lobb reaches 40 on an AFL list, Kennedy must tattoo Lobb’s face somewhere on his body. If he doesn’t, Lobb will have to ink Kennedy onto his skin.

“I honestly feel like I’ve got plenty of footy left. My body feels good and my mind feels clear.”

Away from football, life has settled into a more measured rhythm. Lobb married his partner, Lexi, last year. They are keen to have a family, but in no hurry.

“For now we’ve got time. But yeah, I definitely see myself as a dad one day.”

For the moment, football remains the dominant obsession.

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“I’m a footy head,” he smiled.

Two hundred games is an achievement worth acknowledging, but Lobb has little appetite for nostalgia. His career has featured enough near misses to sharpen the appetite rather than dull it.

He knows exactly what the Bulldogs’ 2016 premiership meant to the club. He was playing for the Giants when they lost the infamous preliminary final that year.

“Hopefully, we can win another one.”