Former St Kilda midfielder Jack Billings and three-time Brisbane premiership player Luke Power are helping VFL standout Cooper Craig-Peters take his game to a new level, as AFL clubs circle ahead of the draft.
Power departed his post Carlton's VFL coach to join the Western Bulldogs as head of development, playing a crucial role in guiding the side's youth, including Craig-Peters.
The former Lion played 302 AFL games, co-captaining the River City side, winning three flags and an All-Australian selection before defecting to the GWS Giants, where he was an inaugural player.
Billings retired from the AFL after 172 games for St Kilda (155) and Melbourne (17), and also signed with the Bulldogs as a development coach, as well as a player for Footscray in 2026.
Both are playing a crucial role in Craig-Peters' development, improving, by extension, his AFL prospects.
"JB (Jack Billings) has over 150 games of AFL experience. He's played really elite footy at the highest level that you possibly can," Craig-Peters told Zero Hanger.
"So speaking with him about his experiences and also what he thinks that I can be working on, because him being probably more of that natural forward, outside mid, that complements my game.
"But also, him having that personal experience of how it works when you're actually playing it helps put it into perspective and not just talking about vision.
"And then you've got Luke Power, another great footy mind that I've been blessed to work with, and the detail that he goes into. Even just the simple stuff of literally just making sure that my hips are open, putting my hand out to tell teammates where I'll be and making myself look a little bit bigger and more of a target instead of just screaming for it.
"So that directional voice and making sure that I'm making myself appear as open as possible to my teammates allows me to get more of the footy and more of that outside use."
Craig-Peters' football has elevated to a level where multiple AFL clubs in Victoria, and one in New South Wales, have contacted his management to set up meetings.
The evolution of his game has seen him transform from a contested, pressure forward into a dual-role midfielder who has the ability to play both inside and outside the contest.
"I think personally, preseason-wise, I worked a lot more on outside running patterns... and then individually going back when I'm training away from the club, working on those running patterns as well as in-season as well," Craig-Peters said.
"Luke Power, he was giving me drills to do, and I'd be doing that outside of the club's contact hours as well, just to really hone in on those skills. Just making sure that a lot of those actions become second nature and automatic.
"My footy ability has spoken for itself over the past, you know, four or five years. So trying not to force anything and just making sure that I'm level-headed as well has really helped me find that next gear."
