Burgess takes up the role of high performance manager at Alberton where he worked between 2005 and 2007.
He left the club to take up the role of head of sports science with Football Federation Australia where his role included the position of fitness coach for the Socceroos.
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Following Australia’s involvement in the 2010 World Cup, Burgess continued his interest in world soccer by taking up the post of head of fitness and conditioning at the Liverpool Football Club.
“I had originally planned to live overseas for three years and it’s turned out to be almost that,” Burgess told PortAdelaideFC.com.au of his decision to return to Australia with his young family.
“There was a lot of motivation in coming back to Australia and I became aware there were a number of opportunities becoming available in the AFL this season including at Port Adelaide.”
Burgess said it was easy to choose a return to Alberton despite offers from other AFL clubs.
“The motivation to return to AFL was always there and once I knew the opportunity with Port Adelaide was definitely there it was always going to be hard to turn down,” he said.
“It’s nice to work in a competition as challenging and elite as the AFL, but it’s even better when you support and are passionate about the team you are working for.”
Burgess said he will always have a love for the round-ball game, but finds the challenge of working in the AFL a special challenge.
“When you are in AFL, you are working with the most complete athletes on the planet when you are talking about speed, strength and endurance,” he said.
“When you consider the strength AFL players need, the endurance running that is required and the shorter much faster running, the all-round demands of the code are unique in world sport.
“To be able to come back and work with that calibre of athlete and make them perform together in a team and in a competition as strong as the AFL, is really exciting.”
Following Australia’s involvement in the 2010 World Cup, Burgess continued his interest in world soccer by taking up the post of head of fitness and conditioning at the Liverpool Football Club.
“I had originally planned to live overseas for three years and it’s turned out to be almost that,” Burgess told PortAdelaideFC.com.au of his decision to return to Australia with his young family.
“There was a lot of motivation in coming back to Australia and I became aware there were a number of opportunities becoming available in the AFL this season including at Port Adelaide.”
Burgess said it was easy to choose a return to Alberton despite offers from other AFL clubs.
“The motivation to return to AFL was always there and once I knew the opportunity with Port Adelaide was definitely there it was always going to be hard to turn down,” he said.
“It’s nice to work in a competition as challenging and elite as the AFL, but it’s even better when you support and are passionate about the team you are working for.”
Burgess said he will always have a love for the round-ball game, but finds the challenge of working in the AFL a special challenge.
“When you are in AFL, you are working with the most complete athletes on the planet when you are talking about speed, strength and endurance,” he said.
“When you consider the strength AFL players need, the endurance running that is required and the shorter much faster running, the all-round demands of the code are unique in world sport.
“To be able to come back and work with that calibre of athlete and make them perform together in a team and in a competition as strong as the AFL, is really exciting.”
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Burgess believes he will bring new perspective to Port Adelaide to share with the players.
“The thing I can hopefully bring is something a little bit different for an AFL club,” he said. “I have gained knowledge with experience in a different sport and completely different league in international football with the Socceroos and the English Premier League with Liverpool.
“The experiences I have had while I’ve been away have been immense in terms of what I’ve learned about what goes into preparing to perform at the highest levels and the changing ways in which athletes and teams go about that.
“I look forward to bringing that back along with some real experience with athletes who I know the players at Alberton look up to personally, and whose preparation can be an example.”
Burgess believes the Port Adelaide footballers can learn from his experience conditioning some of the world’s best soccer players. “The intensity of the training at EPL level is something I hope I can bring,” he said.
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“And it’s not just the two hours you’re training for, but what you’re doing with the other 22 hours when you’re not training.
“The workloads they cope with are phenomenal when you think they play up to three games a week across 46 weeks of the year.
“So hopefully, I will be able to introduce aspects of what I’ve learned to make players more durable.”
Burgess’s involvement in AFL goes back to 1997 when he started a four-year stint as an assistant fitness coach with the Sydney Swans.
Since he left Alberton, Burgess has also completed a PhD in movement analysis in AFL and soccer.
