Gold Coast SUNS new High Performance Manager Dean Robinson’s CV makes for fascinating reading.

In the mid-90’s he studied ‘pre-med’ in the US while trying his hand on – of all things - the professional rodeo circuit, returned home earned a degree in exercise science, backed it up with a Masters degree in Physiotherapy and if he finds time to finish the PhD in biomedical science he’s currently enrolled in, we’ll all be calling him Doctor Robinson.

Little wonder sporting clubs have queued up to borrow Robinson’s expertise over the years.

Although he trained professional sportspeople while he was competing and studying in the US, his first full time appointment was NRL club Sydney Roosters where he was Strength and Conditioning Coach. That was followed by a three-year stint at the NSW Institute of Sport. Thereafter he joined the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles as High Performance Manager before crossing codes to ply his trade with Geelong in the AFL in 2006. Three Grand Finals and two AFL Premierships later, and the GC SUNS came calling.

Welcome aboard. Good to be away from the winter and out and about in the sunshine?

To be honest I’m starting to think I brought the rain with me! No, I’m really looking forward to training the boys on some good sunny days and enjoying the weather being a stimulus for them.

Your wife and kids (Robinson is father to 15 month old twins, Joshua and Charlotte) have made the journey with you. How’s everyone settled in?

Yeah, we’ve settled on the Isle of Capri. Everyone loves it so far. We’re trying to get ourselves involved in the community as much as we can. We’ve been getting out there and amongst it all. It’s been terrific.

You’ve achieved plenty in sport already. Clearly the challenge of improving performance is what motivates you. Was the chance to start something from scratch too good an opportunity to refuse?

I’ve always challenged myself by going to teams that are struggling. When I went to Manly in the NRL they were really up against it and we took them to the grand final. When I went to Geelong they’d finished tenth and the next year we took them to the grand final there as well. The next challenge for me was to find a team and an organisation that I felt passionate about, a place where I felt I could engage players and help them be the best. And this is a brand new club so I have the added bonus of being able to apply my expertise not only on field and on the training track but also around the club more generally because of the experiences I’ve had and the exposure I’ve had to some of the best professional organisations around. I can really pull on all my experiences in a multitude of sports and hopefully see this club thrive and flourish and become a powerhouse of the AFL in the coming years.

How’d it all come about?

Pretty simple really. I was interested and the club was interested in me. Basically the club wanted someone who could help build up the kids’ bodies to help create a team like Geelong had, and obviously with me being a part of creating Geelong they were interested. But I was also interested in coming here because I needed a new challenge. I think the club looked around for what they thought was the best fit and when the opportunity came up I said ‘yeah, that’s a challenge I need in my life’ and so here we are.

Tell us about your time in the rodeo?

It was definitely an exciting time in my life. I was raised on a horse stud south west of Sydney, grew up riding them and spent a heap of time in the bush. Anyway in the mid 90’s I went to the States to have a crack at the pro circuit over there and after just a few weeks I’d received six college offers. I took up one at North Central Texas College and enrolled in ‘pre-med’. Then I did a rodeo scholarship at Texas Tech University. All the while I was training people - professional sportspeople - in rodeo and baseball and a few other sports.

What brought you home?

I actually copped a pretty bad injury, so that saw me head back to Australia. The plan was to get some money behind me then head back. Never turned out that way, though.

What happened?

I got involved in some more training and there was a fair bit of studying going on. I started up the exercise science degree at University of Western Sydney. I finished the degree off in the States and ended up with a 4.0 Grade Point Average which is as good as it gets, so I did pretty well. After that I started up a Masters in Physio. All along I’d still been training people. I helped out a few athletes who were getting themselves ready for the Athens Olympic Games, and I did a stint at NSW Institute of Sport. And then there was my time at Manly. I’m also enrolled in a PhD in Biomedical Science but that’s kind of on the backburner for the time being.

In terms of physicality, are champions simply champions regardless how they are trained? How much of it is innate? How much is learned?

It’s really a balance between the two. You’ve got to split it. I mean you’ve got blokes who are really skilful, natural players but physically they’re terrible and therefore they need to be pushed in a certain way to be able to showcase their skills at a higher level. When it comes to the level of intensity of AFL it doesn’t matter if you’re the most skilful bloke in the world, if you’re not fit enough, you’re going to get found out. So there’s two sides to it and I’ve just got to refine the bits that I can.

Are the Gold Coast SUNS youngsters in for a rude shock? What can they expect in pre-season? Is it as gruelling as rumours suggest?

Tell you what, I reckon they got a really rude shock yesterday. They definitely got a taste of what’s around the corner, that’s for sure. We gave them a standard AFL skills session that we would ordinarily rate a six out of ten in terms of work rate. After the session the players rated it a nine out of ten. The sole difference is intensity of effort. We didn’t do any testing - it was just basic training - but it was at a level they obviously thought was as hard as anything they’d ever done. It’s a wake up call. They now know what’s ahead of them. It’ll be tough.