Lessons learnt early in his career have provided the foundation for the extraordinary recent resilience of rugged Greater Western Sydney co-captain Callan Ward.
At a club which has experienced an inordinate amount of injuries over the last couple of years, Ward has been an ever present figure.
On Saturday the 28-year-old warrior will chalk up his 200th AFL appearance in his 11th season, having notched at least 20 games in each of his last seven campaigns.
Ward is the Giants’ all-time appearance leader on 139 games, missing only five matches since their AFL debut in 2012.and none since the tail end of their 2014 campaign.
It’s an outstanding record given the gritty in and under midfielder is no stranger to physical contact.
While he admits to some good fortune along the way, there’s also been plenty of good management on his part.
Ward learnt lessons early in his career with former club Western Bulldogs after he was sidelined for a significant period by one injury.
“I think you learn about your body a bit in your first few years,” Ward said.
“In my third year, I missed nearly three months of footy with groin issues and ever since then I realised how important it was to do Pilates and core strength stuff.
“You really work out your body and what it needs, so I think ever since then I’ve trained hard, one, and two, I”ve looked after my body. I’ve done extra training, and I’ve done extra core stuff.
After playing in four preliminary finals, two each with the Bulldogs and GWS, Ward wants to take an extra couple of steps and be part of the Giants’ first flag-winning team.
They have struggled for form in their last three outings, logging a draw with St Kilda, an unconvincing win against Brisbane and a big loss at Geelong.
Ward praised the Cats for their defensive pressure but acknowledged the Giants’ poor disposal efficiency, saying their skills and fundamentals weren’t good enough and below AFL standard.
“We understand that and I guess the number one thing is we have to come here and train really well and work on our skills and do extras on kicking and handballing,” Ward said.
