Stalwart St Kilda defenders Sean Dempster and Sam Fisher are both closer to the end than the beginning, but despite their age are still critical components of the Saints’ plans in 2016.

At 32 and 33 respectively, Dempster and Fisher are not only entering this season on the back of strong pre-seasons on the track, but also following impressive 2015 campaigns which resulted in both players finishing inside the top ten of the Trevor Barker Award.

Football’s body clock causes concerns once it ticks past 30, but due to both players’ fastidious approach to preparing their bodies for the grind of the modern game, the former All Australian defenders have ensured they are well prepared for the winter months ahead.

Those outside the football department don’t witness what players put in Monday to Friday. The public only see the end product on the weekend, without being privy to the work that goes on outside of those 120 minutes.

Dempster the consummate professional

According to St Kilda’s defensive coach Rohan Welsh, there’s no secret to Dempster’s sustained success, it just comes down to the phenomenal dedication to his craft, an application that has firmly established the 203-game veteran as an outstanding role model.

“I think it’s just his preparation. He’s meticulous in the way he prepares – his time management is really good,” Welsh told saints.com.au.

“He’ll have a set routine, he’ll come in in the mornings early, read the paper and have his breakie and even after training he’ll do his extras after training.

“I think it comes down to his willingness, he knows that obviously his career’s near the end part more so than the start of his career, so he believes he needs to do everything in his powers to make sure he maintains his fitness and maintains his body strength.

“He’s always in the gym doing his extras; he’s always in the gym doing his recovery stuff on the bike. So that sort of thing is really positive for him.”

Full summer has Chips well placed to go again

Less than 18 months ago, Fisher was on the brink of having his career brought to an unsavoury end. Two years of fragility saw the dual Trevor Barker Award winner staring his immortality in the eye.

But after getting on top of his body in 2015 and managing 18 games, Fisher breathed life into his career. For Welsh, it was Fisher’s ability to get out on the track and remain there across the year that was the difference. And it’s a theme that has flowed across this pre-season and into the 2016 campaign.

“‘Fish’ has been really positive and the thing with ‘Fish’ is he understands his body really well,” Welsh said.

“The thing for him last year that was the real catalyst for having such a good season was he participated in as many training sessions as he could. Even on the Monday sessions or the Tuesday sessions when we’d have our flush run, he was out here doing stuff.

“For him, it was about keeping his body moving and up and keeping it up and going; he did that last year and he’s done that all the way through pre-season as well which is really positive for him.”

“Obviously he’s not getting any younger, but he hasn’t lost any of his speed out on the track, his ball use is as good as what it’s been and his voice and direction for the younger boys has been outstanding.

“We’re looking for him to have another really solid year.”

Become a member today! Call 1300 GO SAINTS or visit HERE.