But for 211cm United States recruit such as Mason Cox, there’s much more to it than just keeping fit.
Cox, 24, had not picked up an Australian football prior the AFL’s US International Combine in Los Angeles earlier this year, but an intense block of skill training with Collingwood’s development coaches prior to the return of his new teammates put him on the path to success.
“He’s fast-tracked very quickly from when he came,” development coach Anthony Rocca told CollingwoodTV.
“He could kick the ball but it was nothing of any significance and ‘Fly’ (Craig McRae), in particular, has done a lot of work and put a lot of hours into his kicking.
“Before the boys got here, he would have done 40-50 sessions just on kicking. I did a little bit with him, but I’ve done more marking and ruck work with him, where he’s going to play the majority of his football.
“He’s putting in a lot of work right now.
“He’s kicking the ball OK – there’s a lot more to work on, but he’s picked up everything very quickly.
“He’s got that sporting background which is very handy, but he picks up everything really quickly.
“His marking and his timing of jumping and body contesting is very good, and only will get better.”
Rocca says Cox, who has already added six kilos to his frame during his time at the Westpac Centre, is using Fremantle champion Aaron Sandilands as a model for the player he hopes to become.
“Aerobically he’s pretty good. He ran his two-kilometre time trial and did pretty well in that.
“He’s no Aaron Sandilands at the moment but he’s someone that we’re going to model on, as Sandilands is such a good player and a dominant ruckman.
“When he goes forward he’s pretty dominant as well so he’s someone we’re going to have a look at.
“We’ll watch his vision and see things that he does as well, and what we can implement with Mason.”
