CARLTON’S new Director of High Performance, Andrew Russell, says he is eager to hone in the “rawness” within the Blues’ playing list.  

Russell, who spent the past 14 seasons working at Hawthorn as its Elite Performance Manager, said the potential for development in Carlton’s young talent especially excited him.

“Carlton was really attractive to me because there is such a great level of talent there with the younger players and I saw there was a rawness in the younger players,” Russell told Carlton Media.

“It’s a really exciting opportunity to grab that rawness and help them develop. I like the idea that a club is not at the top of the ladder and I can play my role in helping that club develop and work through to be a power in the AFL.”

Russell has worked in the AFL system for two decades, beginning at Essendon where he was a part its 2000 premiership. He then worked at the Power as Head Fitness Coach, helping them to a premiership in 2004, before joining Hawthorn alongside Alastair Clarkson for another four premiership.

It looms as a smooth transition to Ikon Park for Russell, who has previously existing relationships with senior coach Brendon Bolton and senior assistant Cameron Bruce.

“Coming to Carlton I’ve got some really strong relationships already that I formed at my time at Hawthorn and also some people that weren’t at Hawthorn. That makes the transition easier.

“We know each other, we know their strengths and weaknesses, we know how each other works, so we can just get stuck into it pretty quickly. We don’t have to work on developing the relationship – the relationship is there, so we just get to work and start helping these players get better.”

With experience helping teams develop into premiership-winning sides, Russell is reason for excitement among the Carlton faithful. He said his main focus would be preparing the players’ bodies and minds to perform on matchdays.

“I will be making sure every player has an individualised program that makes them be their best self and makes them play well,” he said.

“Being an athlete and an AFL player now is a full-time commitment. The standards are going up and up, and I hope to help these players be the best they can be in their whole life.” 

“I’m really excited about seeing if I can get my hands dirty with these guys and help with their development.”

The Blues will begin their 2019 pre-season in early November.