If you watch an AFL game from 20 years ago and compare it to a game from 2009, it’s obvious just how much the game has changed.

But while the games themselves are on display for everyone to see, the daily training sessions away from the public glare show an even more stark change from sessions of yesteryear.

A look at Monday’s training session told the story. Six groups of players worked on various aspects of their games while others rode the stationary bike or boxed. Then the groups came together for match play followed up with running drills. The entire group worked together for less than a quarter of the overall session.

“We used to talk about breaking training up, but in the end everyone really did the same thing. Now it’s all designed for each individual,” Geelong’s general manager of football Neil Balme said.

“Obviously at times the programs will intersect and most players will be involved at that time, but generally we have players working on programs that best fit them.”

The Cats place a heavy emphasis on sports science and the knowledge gained from the constant monitoring of the players plays a large role in the set up of the sessions.

“With the improvements in sport science and technology we know the volumes that players have been doing, the intensity that they have been working at and the responses from their bodies,” Balme said.

“That allows us to optimise the programs that we set up. Players will work on different things at different times. Some will be doing skill work, others fitness, strength and some rehab. If a player needs extra work in one area we can give it to him. It’s a big part of what we do.

“It’s not unusual to be at training and see lots of activity going on with groups of players doing different things. We can also specify of training to the way we play to make sure it all relates back to what we want to achieve.”