SIMON Katich knows what it's like to move states to succeed in professional sport.
 
At 26, he made the move across the country from Western Australia to play cricket with NSW from 2002.
 
Katich, now 39, had experienced Test cricket, having made his debut for Australia in 2001, but it was in his new home he prospered.
 
He became captain of NSW, leading the state with distinction, and forged a 50-Test career that ended with 10 centuries in the bag and a batting average of 45.
 
He joined Greater Western Sydney to develop the club's leadership program in 2014 after a stint leading the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League.
 
Football at the elite level was new to him but he came well equipped to handle the professional environment.
 
"I don't have any formal experience [in leadership] apart from having actually done it myself in cricket," Katich told AFL.com.au.
 
Alongside the club's psychologist Rosie Stanimirovic and assistant coach Alan McConnell, he has been responsible for co-ordinating programs to develop the players' leadership skills.
 
That has seen the Giants' leadership group - and group of emerging leaders - undertake programs at Duntroon and the NSW Police Education and Training Command Leadership Centre.
 
Katich said it's been great to "see the guys go through that process and now be able to handle tough conversations and give feedback" and critical to the group's development.
 
In 2015 however Katich's role has expanded to learning the key components of football management.
 
That means sitting in on match committee, list management and department meetings.
 
He concedes last year was a steep learning curve, expanding the leadership program and learning the mechanics of the game as the team's runner.
 
"It is a lot more complicated game then cricket because there are so many players running around and so many different tactics," Katich said. "It's blown me away how much these young guys have to know in such a short space of time to get up to speed."
 
Because of those demands players are often under pressure. Katich can relate to what they are going through, drawing on his cricket experience.
 
"To me it is all about your preparation. It won't guarantee you success, but it will help alleviate some of those nerves. If you have left no stone unturned in your preparation you can at least go and enjoy the occasion as much as possible," Katich said.
 
"Cricketers are just cricketers compared to these boys. These boys are serious athletes. I've been really impressed at what they have to go through physically to prepare themselves."
 
Katich's experience with playing a sport away from home makes him an asset at Greater Western Sydney, given he is engaging with a list that has just five players from NSW and one from ACT.
 
He knows, to a certain extent, the difficulties of being away from family and friends to forge a career, although he is smart enough to recognise that the attitude he developed is not necessary the answer for everyone.
 
"The only thing I have said to the guys ... is that it is part of the job if you want to play at the highest level," Katich said.
 
"You can't afford to be homesick because it is a massive part of the job [of playing cricket]."
 
He does not push that line, more keen on ensuring those in the Giants environment can lead balanced lives. And he pays tribute to what the club has set up to help make that happen.
 
"[We] encourage the guys to get out and about in Sydney and enjoy being here because there are so many different places to see and things to do," Katich said.
 
"Because they are always in at the club five or six days a week it can become a bit of a bubble there where you're in that little cocoon. The club is good at encouraging the players to get out and about because it is a good place to live."
 
He advocates players having outside interests and says it can help young people settle.
 
But he also knows that making it in elite sport requires a hard edge. All the best leaders had that edge in the heat of battle.
 
"A lot of it is pretty simple. I was fortunate to play under great leaders. Actions spoke louder than words so they led from the front. That is always the basics of being great leader," Katich said.
 
What he is teaching the Giants players is how to harness their talents and turn them into positive leaders.
 
"The key is communication skills. You have got to have the vision of what you want to achieve but also be able to communicate that to all different personalities," Katich said. 

"[It's] something as young guys you don't have the confidence or skills to do that. [We want] that environment of guys being able to have a say and for it to be enjoyable for those young guys to have their say."
 
He's no longer a novelty – former first class cricketer Jamie Cox's appointment at the Saints has guaranteed that – but he is no longer a novice either.
 
Katich is hungry to learn and he is putting the runs on the board.