Footy's endurance men

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/afl/footys-endurance-men/story-fn525un5-1225998585345
Footy's endurance men
THE 3km time trial long has been considered football's fitness measuring stick.

The endurance test puts teammate versus teammate in a race to prove how much run is in their legs.

Messenger Community News this week goes inside the only four SANFL clubs that continue to do key fitness testing over 3km - West Adelaide, Port Adelaide, Sturt and North Adelaide - to find the league's fittest and fastest man over the distance.

South Adelaide, Central District, Norwood, Woodville-West Torrens and Glenelg are not testing over the journey. Most do high-intensity testing over shorter distances in what has become a growing trend.

Only the Eagles did not test over 3km before the 2009 season. Coach Michael Godden said his club concentrated on more explosive running, such as 3x1km efforts, that better reflected how players ran in matches.

"In terms of testing, we're trying to simulate what you do in a game and in terms of running a 3km as fast as you can it's nothing you can do in a game," Godden said.

"The move away to higher (interchange) rotations means players are more explosive ... so we train that way and test that way."

Bloods coach Andrew Collins, however, saw benefit in sticking with the 3000m run.

"We think endurance is the base of all fitness components and it's a real, basic, simple quick test of endurance," Collins said.

A year away from the SANFL has not hampered the fitness base of West Adelaide's Stephen Bailey.

Returning to the club after a year of amateur football with Gaza, Bailey stopped the clock at 9:58 at the end of the Bloods' 3km run last month on Richmond Oval.

Across town North Adelaide's Greg Gallman beat teammates across the line with a time of 9:57 when the Roosters tested in November at Mackinnon Parade.

The Port Adelaide Magpies' best 3km runner around the Adelaide University loop in December - with a time of 9:36 - will remain a mystery. The club refused to divulge the player's name.

The SANFL's star over 3km is Sturt's Tom Rischbieth, a former national under-18 medal-winning 1500m runner. He won the Double Blues' run in the south parklands last month in 9:15. Rischbieth said his running background helped him during pre-season but he also credited the club's fitness coach Daniel Buberis.

"All of our results were really good this year," Rischbieth said.

"Speaking to the boys after the run a lot of them commented on how strong they felt. I think that's a credit to the training Daniel's got us doing.

"My running is really important to the style of football I play. I try to run really hard throughout the match."

Rischbieth's 3km run stacks up well against Power star Kane Cornes, who clocked 9:21 in 2009, but is well behind Kenyan world record holder Daniel Komen, timed at 7:20 in 1996.

THE SANFL'S BEST OVER 3KM

Tom Rischbieth (Sturt) 9 minutes 15 seconds

Name not supplied (Port) 9.36

Greg Gallman (North Adelaide) 9.57

Stephen Bailey (West Adelaide) 9.58

THE BEST OF THE REST

Darren Clunes (Glenelg) ran 1650m in a five-minute run at Westminster School last month

Cameron Sutcliffe (Eagles) won 3x1km at Thebarton Oval last month

Tom Butler (South Adelaide) won 1km time trial in 2:57 last month

* Norwood and Central District's results were not available at presstime