Working with Darren Burgess and Juventus during the 2025 Indigenous All Stars match (inset). Photo: AFL Photo/Courtesy
Renowned fitness guru Darren Burgess, the Crows’ former head of fitness, has advocated changing the structure of pre-season to help manage injuries, saying the shortened fixtures would alleviate concerns about adding another game to the season.
Burgess left the Crows at the end of last season and joined Italian football giants Juventus as the club’s performance director. It marks a return to European football after stints as head of fitness at Liverpool and Arsenal, and the Crows have lost one of their weapons to climb the ladder.
In a wide range of interviews, AFL.com.au During a short visit to Australia, world-famous Burgess said the AFL’s discussions about extending the season by one more game as part of the 2028 fixtures meant a reduction in game time would need to be considered.
“I don’t think the exposure of the match itself was the cause.” [that’s the risk]I think it’s a total season exposure. Players are asked to do a lot over a very long period of time, and I think it’s okay to play an extra game or two. “But I think if we adjust the length of the games a little bit and tweak the preseason period, we can play more games,” he said.
“Whether it’s commercial interests, the fans, the media, that’s what everyone wants. If the games are a little shorter and the players get some rest in the off-season, everyone likes the thrill of the game.”
Coaches such as Andrew McAlter and Adem Eze have raised the issue of not having a long enough pre-season to incorporate game plan strategies into a young group, but Burgess said there was plenty of time to get players fit in that period. But he is in favor of changing the structure of pre-season so players don’t have three weeks off over Christmas and face the dangerous January training period that so many players have suffered from injury this year.
“When players come back, it might be just a week or two before Christmas, but then there’s a three-week break, then a mandatory four-day break, then a pre-season break, so there’s no consistency in exposure,” he said.
“I’d like to give them a longer offseason. But once the preseason starts, you get into it and your off time is limited at that time. Then I think everyone will be happy with the amount of exposure they get.”
Mr Burgess was chairman of the newly formed AFL High Performance Association, set up to give fitness, strength and conditioning staff a say in the new rules and their impact on the next stage of the industry.
He said he had been in contact with performance heads at a number of AFL clubs since leaving his post with the Crows and shared his views on the league’s stance on limiting contact training during the upcoming pre-season, which was confirmed to club CEOs last week.
“I understand the level. There is an element of contact training that is necessary to strengthen the body in preparation for the competition,” he said.
Burgess also detailed the key differences between the Australian and international codes, what the future holds for the athlete, his thoughts on Adelaide’s injuries this year, and a deep dive into his high performance and whether he could return to an AFL club again. AFL.com.au.
Darren Burgess and Max Micalany during Adelaide’s Captain’s Run at West Lakes, 3 September 2025, Photo: Getty Images
“Wow, that could be used in football.”
Since returning to the world of football, Burgess has become a central figure in new trends in global sport and athlete management.
He says there are two differences between the AFL and the major football leagues.
“In terms of trends over there, it’s money, so the data and analytics are incredible. I was out of European football for seven years, and in that time investment in player recruitment technology and match analysis technology has exploded,” Burgess said.
“This is probably the best thing I’ve ever seen and thought, ‘Wow, this could definitely be used in soccer.’
“The things that we do well in football are probably not replicated very often.” [in soccer] That’s the cultural side of things. The leadership, culture and investment in football is great, but it’s not happening in many elite sports, especially European football. ”
Darren Burgess, Juventus FC Performance Director. Photo: Attached
Burgess said the nature of the season, with games played every two to three days, the variety of competitions and the threat of a month of poor performance leading to the sacking of even the best managers meant more time was spent on tactics, analysis and training sessions than on culture-building elements.
Another big difference, again based on resources, was Juventus’ approach to AI. He describes how AFL clubs are using AI as a 1-100 comparison to what he has seen first-hand at one of the world’s biggest clubs in Europe.
“We use it a lot at Juventus. First of all, the ability to shorten the work, but also the ability to sift through large amounts of data and get what you want from player management, player recruitment, etc. is just amazing,” he said.
“It will never replace an eye for talent, but for football clubs and recruiting teams, it’s a huge amount of data to sift through, so it’s very useful for us.
“I’d like to think that if I ever come back to the AFL, I’ll be able to bring back a more streamlined version of something like that.”
beware of crows
After showing good fitness ahead of their first minor premiership last year, Adelaide’s injury problems began throughout pre-season, with key players Mark Keane (broken foot) and Daniel Curtin (knee) continuing to fail.
Callum Ah Chee’s arrival at West Lakes comes with some hamstring issues, while Jordon Butts, Wayne Mirella, Isaac Cumming and Luke Pedler have also been sidelined recently with soft tissue concerns, and Riley Shilthorpe has been battling a back injury in stages.
Burgess also helped select a replacement for former Port Adelaide fitness manager Ian McCune, who previously played in the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers, upon his departure from the Crows.
Burgess compares the club’s injury run numbers to the cricket average, and the club always finds an average.
“In cricket, you might get 100, you might get 50, you might get zero, but if your average is 50 you should be pretty happy. I think the Crows were lucky and I think they managed well last year and they’re doing the same thing this year. They’ve just been a bit unlucky with a couple of injuries,” he said.
“You always come back to the average and I think that’s probably what happened. I think they’ve been doing well at the right times, but I don’t know how much some of the key players taking a couple of weeks off during the season will refresh them for the finals.”
Darren Burgess (left) and Simon Goodwin train in Melbourne at HBF Arena on September 21, 2021. Photo: AFL Photo
remaining discussion
On the topic of freshness, did the rotation required for a full season at Juventus give Burgess a different view on whether AFL players will soon be managed more frequently to get through a season?
Fremantle are at the top of the table with two wins, three and a half points clear of third place, and will soon have the ability to manage their squad for the finals.
Mr Burgess has seen football clubs become more proactive in choosing when to rotate teams and players for important matches and agrees this will become more common in the AFL.
“I hope so. I think that’s really important. You’ve heard pressure coaches say, ‘It just looked a bit flat, it didn’t look quite right.’ So I’m sure that happens at a very detailed level at every football club,” he said.
“But I would like it to be appreciated that the emphasis is on the freshness of the players and that this can have an impact both mentally and physically.
“Fremantle could be in a position to achieve that if they win the next few games. You have to be aware that there is a rhythm of match exposure that the human body likes. But with certain players with injury histories and age groups, I think it’s really important to manage them properly. And with Freo’s flight exposure, that’s just as important.”
“Juventus’ Jordan Dawson”
Future soccer players will be faster. They may be tall. They may be able to kick longer and run better. But the advantage Burgess sees in the next generation of players, such as the AFL stars of 2035, lies off the field.
Burgess said it’s all about the superstar’s mindset.
“The two things that stand out the most about really good players are, number one, their curiosity to want to get better. The number of times Crows players send me messages saying, ‘I’ve seen LeBron James do this,’ or ‘I’ve seen this player have this skill,’ or ‘I’ve read about this, I’m listening to this podcast.’ I think that’s going to be even more important,” he said.
“Another great thing is the ability to switch off and be as well-rounded as possible.
“I’m completely convinced that it helps performance, especially decision-making, because if your head is clouded with all the meetings and messages and you don’t have the ability to switch off at all, your ability to perform on match day is going to be cluttered. That’s going to be very important going forward.”
“For example, if I’m talking to Jordan Dawson from Juventus, I’m also talking to his agent, his parents, his personal physiotherapist and his doctor. So you can imagine how confusing it is in the players’ heads.”
The nature of the AFL roster of around 45 players means that tailoring training programs to individuals is a challenge for our talented staff. Mr Burgess said the reality of players having their own support team for both conditioning and external matters would likely become a reality for the AFL.
Travis Bourque and Darren Burgess train for Port Adelaide at Kowan Stadium on May 11, 2017. Photo: AFL Media
“When the soft cap was introduced in the AFL, departments were forced to slim down significantly, with high performance departments and science and nutrition departments being cut significantly. Without resources, it’s very difficult to show character,” he said.
“More and more players are going to look outside, not just to individual coaches in that area, because that’s what’s happening in basketball, baseball, the NFL, and definitely soccer. I think they’re going to have their own programs, and clubs are going to have to work with outside providers.”
AFL return?
Burgess has been active with Port Adelaide, Melbourne (where he led the fitness department in winning the 2021 premiership) and Adelaide, and has not ruled out a return to the AFL system.
“I certainly saw myself coming back, but life is pretty short. You have to go and have adventures and you never know where it will take you,” he said.
“Professional sport is a pretty demanding and cutthroat business, so you never know where you’re going to end up. I love soccer. I enjoyed my time in soccer so much that I would never say no.”
Essendon were also keen to pursue Burgess last year as the Bombers were chasing a new high-performing manager, but he was earmarked for the role at Juventus. Matt Innes, who eventually left the West Coast to join the Bombers, replaced Burgess as president of the AFL High Performance Association.
Burgess has kept in touch with Crows players during his time in Adelaide, catching up with a number of them last week and earlier this year his new role even saw the Swans star stay at his home.
Kenan Yildiz and Sydney Swan Errol Gulden of Juventus FC. Photo: Attached
“I’m obviously very close to Simon Goodwin, and he sent me a message saying, ‘Is there anything I can do for you?’ I had no idea what it was, but Errol Gulden hurt his shoulder and he’s a huge football fan,” Burgess said.
“I had never met him, but he came over and spent a few nights with us, and now I have a friend for life.
“He’s got Turkish heritage, so he dated Kenan Yildiz, our superstar, so things like that were great.”
