One of my first points of call was to see Dean Benton at Broncos training just before they went on their very brief Christmas break.
It was good to meet with Ivan Henjak the new Broncos ‘Boss’ as he begins his leadership of this mighty organisation following the resignation of
Wayne Bennett. Ivan and I worked very closely together when he was coaching at the Broncos in the mid-1990’s and he has a very good working
relationship with his Performance Director, Dean Benton.
 
Watching the session was deeply satisfying as it illustrated the lengths to which one must go to effect the required change in performance.
The session was focused on speed and power with a large amount of ‘Running Mechanics’ development woven into the fabric of the session.
I am convinced that there is not enough investment in the development of efficient running actions in our Field and Court sports and to see
this well planned program unfold was a sight for sore eyes. Just doing reps and sets of fast running does very little to effect long term
change in this primary bio-motor ability and Dean is a master at this type of integration. The positive effect on acceleration and maximum
velocity are obvious but the injury prevention issue is also firmly dealt with in this intervention. The key is patience – having the brains
and the courage to invest wisely when all about you is crying out for immediate outcomes.
 
This is another example of the multi-disciplined approach to modern training where Physical Competence and Muscular-Skeletal screening
establishes the proper prescription for the individual player. Without this cooperation between highly experienced Physiotherapists and high
quality S&C practitioners the outcomes will be less than the player deserves.