Watch Part 2 of Darren Burgess's response to fan questions on PTV above. Can't see the video? Watch on YouTube.
DARREN BURGESS says that he hopes to bring a worldly perspective to Port Adelaide’s training regime as he takes up the reins of the fitness and conditioning program at Alberton.
Burgess previously worked with the Power and has settled back into Adelaide having returned from English Premier League side Liverpool where he was the Reds’ head of fitness and conditioning.
[ Watch: Part 1 of Burgo’s exclusive Q&A with PTV ]
Responding to the questions of Port Adelaide's social media subscribers in a special PTV interview, the club’s new High Performance Manager said the fitness requirements of AFL and EPL football have become similar.
“It’s [AFL] quite similar to soccer now,” he told PortAdelaideFC.com.au.
“Strikers in soccer now would run anywhere between 10 and 11 kilometres, midfielders up around 12 kilometres and defenders a bit closer to 10 than 11 kilometres.
“That’s fairly similar to those corresponding positions in AFL.”
Burgess worked for the Power between 2005 and 2007 and was instrumental in building the fitness program that saw Port reach the AFL Grand Final against Geelong in his final year.
But the game style of the AFL has changed noticeably in his five years working in soccer, as forwards and backs increasingly push up-ground to impact in the midfield.
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“Absolutely, that’s probably the big one,” he said of the increased speed of AFL football.
“The defenders and the half forwards who come up and play in the midfield have to run like midfielders and have to be trained like midfielders.
“There’s no doubt that’s something that’s changed since I’ve been involved.”
Despite his high-profile move back to Port Adelaide, Burgess does not plan to reinvent the wheel at Alberton.
“Hopefully I’ll just be able to bring a little bit different approach and a little bit more experience from a global point of view,” he said.
“Hopefully that’ll help the team in their fitness.”
