Who is the best AFL preparer?
Former AFL high-performance guru Andrew Russell has been in and around the competition for over two decades, and has worked closely with some of the best players in the league.
Russell spent time at Essendon, Port Adelaide, Hawthorn and Carlton during his time at clubland, and is now assisting AFL players on an individual level.
On SEN, he ranks his top 10 preparers during his time as a high-performance coach in the AFL.
Stiff to miss
Lance 'Buddy' Franklin pre-season in 2008.
"The only player I've seen from a training perspective, you'd pay to watch him train; he was that good. In a team of champions, he stood out. His speed, endurance, skill, strength, his ball handling, finishing skills, every aspect of the game, completely stood out.
"He had over 200 shots on goal. A special year after a special preparation. It starts in October. He was in the top two or three in every single capacity you want to measure and one in most of them."
The criteria are:
"From the time you get up in the morning to the time you go to bed, what you do with your day. We're talking about life habits. Everything. The way that you live is the way that you play over time."
8Shane Crawford
"He used to run 7km on a Friday night before a Saturday game, and he said to me, 'I wonder why I felt so flat'. That showed you the mentality he had. And right to the end, he was exploring ways to get better.
"He kept doing speed, speed, speed. When he had his knee injury, he was doing 20km of walking to stay in shape. Unbelievable endurance and started doing athletics in the off-season before people were thinking that way."
