ADELAIDE has hired a former British army boxing team captain to put its players through their paces in the ring.

The move is part of new coach Brenton Sanderson's plan to have the Crows bigger and stronger in 2012.

Sid Leavold, the man leading the sessions, says boxing can have several benefits for a footballer.

"It teaches them discipline," Leavold told the club's website, afc.com.au.

"You might get hurt a bit, but just like on the footy field you don't back down from a challenge.

"When the players think they've got nothing left, I usually give them one more round to show them they've got more inside to keep on going and, hopefully, that can translate to game day.

"It also gives the younger guys a bit of confidence mixing with the senior blokes in the ring."

Former Tiger Richard Tambling has stamped himself as the Crows' king of the ring.

"Richard has a good boxer's mind," Leavold said.

"When he’s tired, instead of throwing 10 punches and landing only one, Richard will throw two punches and land one.

"He's got natural skill and can find punches where other blokes can't.

"It takes quite a bit of skill and technique to get a punch correct.

"It's not just about throwing punches all over the place, which admittedly is probably what most of the guys did in the first couple of weeks.

"Now, they’re starting to learn how to set punches up more efficiently."

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs