He sounds like a super knowledgable but personable guy. He was really positive about the mind set of the boys. Said they were very focused and determined. Players he hadnt met yet calling him from overseas to ask about preparation. Also said only 2 or 3 would be starting late due to surgery this year as opposed to 16-17 last year. A good listen.

Burgess has a wealth of information, in regards of not only the fitness of an AFL player, but also the mental health of the players.

I think as fans, we may not even think, of the mental health of a player/players; and how that can also affect the out come of a match; and even a whole season.

97% skill: tick. Train a lot more (with ball in hand): tick. 

Sounds positive. Looking forward to a fitter and healthier Melbourne side.

Great interview - thanks for posting!

Interested in his thought on the difference in training at Arsenal. Concedes soccer is less physical but their traing loads are higher and centre around pace, agility and speed of the mark. Fascinated that Robbie Graysons would be considered average for agility in premier league. I suspect the greater training for speed and take off may lower the number of hamstring injuries which is still the number 1 injury causing loss of game time.

Found myself not wanting the interview to end ... really interesting fitness perspectives about mfc last year and also afl vs epl.

On reflection:

* Expectations of most supporters, media and betting agencies for a top 4 or top 6 finish this season were ridiculous given the number of ops to our best players although 17th place surprised all of us

* Makes you wonder why we carried so many injured players through to the end of the 2018 season. Smarter player management would dictate that we stagger ops strategically throughout the season to ensure that we don't have so many missing at once and hopes for the following season aren't completely lost

* EPL players train much more often than AFL players even though they play less minutes

* Mental health is so important these days. Perhaps this is part of the reason why caring coaches are doing well at the moment

Edited November 7, 20196 yr by Demons1858

7 minutes ago, Demons1858 said:

Found myself not wanting the interview to end ... really interesting fitness perspectives about mfc last year and also afl vs epl.

On reflection:

* Expectations of most supporters, media and betting agencies for a top 4 or top 6 finish this season were ridiculous given the number of ops to our best players although 17th place surprised all of us

* Makes you wonder why we carried so many injured players through to the end of the 2018 season. Smarter player management would dictate that we stagger ops strategically throughout the season to ensure that we don't have so many missing at once and hopes for the following season aren't completely lost

* EPL players train much more often than AFL players even though they play less minutes

* Mental health is so important these days. Perhaps this is part of the reason why caring coaches are doing well at the moment

I think the possibility and push to play our first final in a loooong while would adequately explain this.

We rolled the dice and lost, twice...  once in Perth and then throughout 2019. Good lessons for a maturing group. 

19 minutes ago, PaulRB said:

I think the possibility and push to play our first final in a loooong while would adequately explain this.

We rolled the dice and lost, twice...  once in Perth and then throughout 2019. Good lessons for a maturing group. 

True to some degree that they were pushing for finals but we clearly risked too much and mismanaged things. We absolutely got ahead of themselves. It will also cost us big bucks in 2020 memberships as failed season hit finances harder in subsequent years. Going forward, where possible players should be operated on earlier in the season so they can be back in time fit for finals footy and the following season

Edited November 7, 20196 yr by Demons1858

3 hours ago, deebug said:

Burgess has a wealth of information, in regards of not only the fitness of an AFL player, but also the mental health of the players.

I think as fans, we may not even think, of the mental health of a player/players; and how that can also affect the out come of a match; and even a whole season.

Just listened to the Burgess interview through SEN over here in America and I am sooo impressed in his lateral thinking and overall presence.

Together with Dr Peter Brukner (world-renowned Australian sports medicine clinician and researcher)  What an awesome world leading Medical & sports science combo!

Edited November 7, 20196 yr by Lord Ivanhoe

We are in good hands. Up to the players now. Big Preseason coming.

53 minutes ago, Demons1858 said:

True to some degree that they were pushing for finals but we clearly risked too much and mismanaged things. We absolutely got ahead of themselves. It will also cost us big bucks in 2020 memberships as failed season hit finances harder in subsequent years. Going forward, where possible players should be operated on earlier in the season so they can be back in time fit for finals footy and the following season

Agree to some extent, in that we poorly managed/planned our 2019 season and paid for it dearly.

However, hopefully the three finals we played will be an invaluable experience and investment for the coming years, unlike the Bulldogs this year who's finals campaign lasted 5 minutes.

We've showed we can handle MCG finals heat in front of 90,000!

Furthermore, the way some of our ' 2018-2019 rehab' players such as Viney, Petracca, Harmes, T Mac and Jetta all played in August and September 2018 probably couldn't justify an early finish to their seasons for surgery, 

 

1 hour ago, Demons1858 said:

True to some degree that they were pushing for finals but we clearly risked too much and mismanaged things. We absolutely got ahead of themselves. It will also cost us big bucks in 2020 memberships as failed season hit finances harder in subsequent years. Going forward, where possible players should be operated on earlier in the season so they can be back in time fit for finals footy and the following season

Which players would you have pulled out of 2018 on route to a prelim purely because they needed end of season surgery?

Harmes, Hunt, Oliver, Petracca all were fine for 2019. Taking out Jetta? Taking out Tommy Mc or Melksham? Really pulling out Viney who finally got a chance at finals? Or Hannan and his match sealing goal. 

We had too many self inflicted injuries at the start of 2019 and didn’t manage post surgery guys back to form and fitness. But  there’s no way we should’ve rested guys. Imagine if the Dogs did that in 2016?

2 hours ago, PaulRB said:

I think the possibility and push to play our first final in a loooong while would adequately explain this.

We rolled the dice and lost, twice...  once in Perth and then throughout 2019. Good lessons for a maturing group. 

I have wondered the same tging, but i think you are exactly right. They rolled the dice with the possible reward a flag.

As the doggies and tigers showed you need to take your chance if it presents. 

The right move I reckon.

2 hours ago, Ohio USA - David said:

Just listened to the Burgess interview through SEN over here in America and I am sooo impressed in his lateral thinking and overall presence.

Hi, welcome David, Burgess has been great, i think we are in for a great 2020, sounds like the players are up and about, so good times?

THE SAVIOUR

I like how he refers to himself as "Fitness Coach" and not "Elite Sports Performance Manager" or whatever it was Misson came up with. 

4 hours ago, Demons1858 said:

* EPL players train much more often than AFL players even though they play less minutes

I am quite passionate about cycling and have read some respected international level coaches who believe the volume is key, versus intensity.

This is to get people doing well in events ranging from 90mins full gas or 5-6 hours. It's also worth noting a guy that trains for the 100m sprint still does an absolutel mountain of hours of running throughtout the year for a 9-10 second event.

AFL players do very little training compared to many high level international sports, but we have the added variable of body impact/collision which requires management during the week.

Edited November 7, 20196 yr by BW511

2 hours ago, BW511 said:

I am quite passionate about cycling and have read some respected international level coaches who believe the volume is key, versus intensity.

This is to get people doing well in events ranging from 90mins full gas or 5-6 hours. It's also worth noting a guy that trains for the 100m sprint still does an absolutel mountain of hours of running throughtout the year for a 9-10 second event.

AFL players do very little training compared to many high level international sports, but we have the added variable of body impact/collision which requires management during the week.

Armstrong certainly injected a lot of volume ...hyuk hyuk hyuk

3 minutes ago, Engorged Onion said:

Armstrong certainly injected a lot of volume ...hyuk hyuk hyuk

He did actually. Armstrong is famous for doing more training, and targeted training than most other pros of his era.

2 hours ago, AllMyTeamsAreWank said:

I like how he refers to himself as "Fitness Coach" and not "Elite Sports Performance Manager" or whatever it was Misson came up with. 

He refers to himself as what he is: High Performance Manager. At Arsenal he was Director of High Performance. Misson was Elite Performance Manager, a term that other clubs use as well.

But heh, why bother with facts when you get in a little revisionism and hindsight bias.

2 hours ago, BW511 said:

I am quite passionate about cycling and have read some respected international level coaches who believe the volume is key, versus intensity.

FWIW, I'm also quite passionate about cycling, and one thing we've seen over the last decade is a move away from volume to intensity-based training (e.g. HIT training). It's what's key to training with power meters, and the recommendations that go with that.

We haven’t had a fitness bloke with this sort of hype since Misson.