Richard Graves is joined by Brendan Fahrner, formerly Head of Sports Science at the South Sydney Rabbitohs, and previously a long-serving performance staff member at Richmond Football Club during one of the most successful periods in AFL history.

Across a career spanning AFL and NRL, Brendan has worked inside premiership-winning programs, navigated the evolution of GPS and performance analytics, and seen firsthand how elite sport has shifted from data accumulation to data translation.

In this conversation, he strips back the noise around technology and shares why soft skills, trust, and clarity of message ultimately drive performance outcomes. From simplifying GPS dashboards to building credibility with senior coaches, Brendan offers a grounded, practical perspective on what actually moves the needle in team sport.

He also speaks candidly about practitioner burnout, self-worth, and why sustainability in high performance careers is just as important as physical robustness in athletes.

This episode will resonate with sports scientists, S&C coaches, performance managers and aspiring practitioners looking to build impact in elite environments.

In this episode you will learn

• Why high performance is more about relationships than periodisation
• How to build trust quickly when entering a new club environment
• The importance of simplifying data for coaches and athletes
• How to align performance metrics with a coach’s game model
• Why most GPS reports contain too much irrelevant data
• How to identify the few variables that truly influence coach perception
• Practical strategies for athlete-centric monitoring in squad settings
• The crossover principles between AFL and NRL performance environments
• How to translate analytics into language players understand
• Why self-care and professional boundaries matter in elite sport
• The importance of valuing yourself as a practitioner

About Brendan Fahrner
Brendan Fahrner is a high performance practitioner with extensive experience in elite Australian sport.
He began his career in the early adoption phase of GPS in the AFL, working with Richmond and later Geelong during a period of sustained premiership success. He spent the majority of his career at Richmond Football Club, contributing to three premiership titles and multiple finals campaigns.
Most recently, Brendan worked in the NRL with the South Sydney Rabbitohs, applying performance principles across codes and leading athlete monitoring and sports science integration within rugby league.
He has developed a strong reputation for simplifying complex performance data, building trust with athletes and coaches, and creating athlete-centred systems in high-pressure team environments.

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In this episode you will learn

• How early rejection and non-academy pathways can shape resilience and long-term success
• Why strong team culture and shared identity can create psychological advantages over more talented opponents
• Lessons from Wimbledon’s “Crazy Gang” environment and what modern teams can still learn from it
• How elite managers like Kevin Keegan, Kenny Dalglish, and Sir Bobby Robson differed in leadership and man-management
• Why man-management remains central to performance, even in data-rich environments
• How elite players and coaches balanced intuition, experience, and emerging sports science practices
• The importance of trust, togetherness, and players “having each other’s backs” in high-pressure environments
• Where modern football may be losing connection with basic human communication
• Warren’s perspective on technology, VAR, and how decision-making affects the athlete and fan experience
• How coaches can better integrate data with athlete feedback and lived experience

About Warren Barton
Warren Barton is a former England international footballer who played at the highest level of English football during the 1990s. His career included spells at Wimbledon and Newcastle United, where he became part of Kevin Keegan’s iconic “Entertainers” side and captained the club during one of its most influential Premier League eras.
Since retiring from playing, Warren has built a career in broadcasting and coaching, working extensively in the United States as a football analyst and pundit, including coverage of major international tournaments. He holds his UEFA Pro Licence and continues to work across elite football, combining practical experience with a deep understanding of performance, psychology, and leadership.

SIGN UP NOW: https://bit.ly/SFSepisode241

​ Learn Quicker & More Effectively
​ Optimise Your Athletes' Recovery
​ Position Yourself As An Expert To Your Athletes And Naturally Improve Buy-In
​ Reduce Your Athletes' Injury Ratese
​ Save 100's Of Dollars A Year That Would Otherwise Be Spent On Books, Courses And More
​ Improve Your Athletes' Performance
​ Advance Forward In Your Career, Allowing You To Earn More Money And Work With Elite-Level Athletes
​ Save Yourself The Stress & Worry Of Constantly Trying To Stay Up-To-Date With Sports Science Research

You’ll Learn

• How deliberate structure and environment in the early years set Johnny’s foundation for world-class performance, and what that means for athlete development pipelines in elite sport.
• The interplay between physical conditioning and mental readiness: why Johnny argues that even 99% physical fitness isn’t enough without mental strength to match.
• How a coach/mentor adapted learning modality to individual athlete needs (story-based learning vs. written instruction) and how that insight translates to sport science practice.
• The “apprenticeship phase” of elite athletes: why Johnny spent six years as a sparring partner across Europe, what he learned about failure, character-building and resilience, and how that maps to athlete development models.
• The transition out of elite competition: Johnny’s reflections on his own injury-forced retirement, loss of gym identity and how elite sport practitioners can support athlete exit and long-term wellbeing.
• Practical take-aways on environment design, multicultural team culture, and creating performance contexts that simulate hostile or challenging conditions (drawing on Johnny’s anecdotes of gym culture and travelling abroad).

About Johnny Nelson
Johnny Nelson (born 4 January 1967, Sheffield) turned professional in 1986 after a modest amateur career. He trained under iconic coach Brendan Ingle at the Wincobank gym in Sheffield, where he developed not only boxing skills but a mindset of relentless belief and self-validation.
In March 1999 he captured the WBO Cruiserweight World Title and held it until his retirement in 2006—during which he defended it 13 times, the most ever in cruiserweight history. Post-career, Johnny has built a prominent role as a boxing pundit, keynote speaker, and mentor around mindset, resilience and high-performance culture.

FREE 7d SCIENCE FOR SPORT ACADEMY TRIAL

SIGN UP NOW: https://bit.ly/SFSepisode241

​ Learn Quicker & More Effectively
​ Optimise Your Athletes' Recovery
​ Position Yourself As An Expert To Your Athletes And Naturally Improve Buy-In
​ Reduce Your Athletes' Injury Ratese
​ Save 100's Of Dollars A Year That Would Otherwise Be Spent On Books, Courses And More
​ Improve Your Athletes' Performance
​ Advance Forward In Your Career, Allowing You To Earn More Money And Work With Elite-Level Athletes
​ Save Yourself The Stress & Worry Of Constantly Trying To Stay Up-To-Date With Sports Science Research