AS A PLAYER renowned for speed, tenacity and pressure, Jeff Garlett is all too conscious of taking his aerobic fitness to the next level.
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The Melbourne speedster has hand-picked Rodney Ryan’s Warrnambool gym as his personal post-season training base, taking part in a host of cardio and strength related exercises in a bid to stay in shape in the Demons’ off-season.
The former Carlton star, who crossed to the Demons at the end of 2014, said boxing was one of his preferred exercises.
“It’s a hard sport, and training is absolutely hard. Compared to an AFL pre-season, where it’s mainly about running, it gives me a bit of extra fitness so when I’m back I’m ready to go and not falling behind,” Garlett said.
“You’d be very silly if you came back to pre-season training out of shape. This is our jobs and not many people get to do what we do for a job so we have to show what we do 24/7, because it’s a round the clock job.”
The 27-year-old said he first worked with Ryan when the Warrnambool instructor was training Carlton’s list a couple of seasons ago.
Since then, Garlett has made the trip down the Princes Highway to train in the south-west in the AFL off-season.
He said as a forward, most of his game revolved around defensive pressure.
"Being a forward, you have to run up to help the mids and backs,” he said.
“It’s definitely full on. I want to be up there with the best small forwards. Eddie (Betts) is probably the best small forward in the competition and I want to be up there with him.
“I was lucky enough to play with him and to learn off him, but I want to be where he is with his ability. I want to be up there and the only way to get there is to have a good off-season and to put the hard yards in.”
Garlett played 17 games for the Demons in 2016, booting 29 goals to mark a solid return after succumbing to a skin infection in August.
He formed part of a dangerous, multi-pronged forward line, which included superstar forward Jesse Hogan, Jack Watts and young gun Christian Petracca.
The former Swan Districts footballer said he was excited to be a part of the growing youth on show at the Demons.
“We definitely have grown as a team. We’re happy with our season, but we’re not happy with our season at the same time,” he said.
“We could have made finals but we’re a young team, we’re growing. We’re learning off each other and we’re all improving. We want to get there at the end of the day.
“The Western Bulldogs were in the same position we were about three years ago so hopefully we can follow that footpath, but play our brand of football.
“It’s an exciting time for the footy club.”