IN THE lead-up to the 2018 season, ruckman Max Gawn spoke to Matt Burgan about the upcoming season – and what he’s up to off the field …

MB: Always a pleasure to chat, Max. Firstly, how was your pre-season?

MG: I’ve actually done every session in the past three pre-seasons, so there has been a lot of hard work to get on top of my game, and hopefully I’ll be injury-free this year.

MB: The end of last season has been much talked about. How did you handle it?

MG: It was disappointing to end the way we did last season. Personally, I had a poor finish to the last three or four games, so I was disappointed with my own standards. I felt like I had an opportunity to get as fit as I could when I came back to pre-season. I had a burning desire to keep training – as I wanted to make sure that what happened at the end of last year doesn’t happen again. That was part of the reason behind losing eight kilos. I wanted to make a difference and do something in the off-season when no-one else was. Then I wanted to come back for the start of pre-season ready to go, working on other areas of my game, which I was able to do, which was good.

MB: You’re a great character and a much-underrated leader. Do you believe you’re a natural leader?

MG: The term natural leader – it’s been thrown at me at bit, but I don’t think I’m a natural leader. I’m an extrovert and I’ve had to develop my leadership through that. I like to be loud, noisy, heard around the club and stand out. I’m relatively confident in my place around the club, but wasn’t necessarily a good leader in my first few years. As a natural leader, I don’t think I was – I think I’ve worked hard to get to the stage I’m at now. Hopefully the players see that as well and I get reelected into the leadership group for the years to come. I want to stay inside this leadership, which is still developing.

MB: Would you like to be captain one day?

MG: It would be a privilege to be captain of the oldest football club in the AFL one day. But to be honest, once the siren goes, I’d have the same mentality as I do now. I don’t go out there thinking that Jonesy (Nathan Jones) and [Jack] Viney are going to get us through now because they are the captains. I don’t think I’d change much, and I’m pretty happy with where I’m at. It’s great to be led by probably the two best leaders I’ve seen come through the walls in Jonesy and Viney. Nathan’s been a great mentor in my life and Jack’s just starting to become a little mentor in my life, so it’s good to have those two as skippers.

MB: Which teammates have impressed you over summer?

MG: I’m not going to talk about Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca, because everyone knows they’re flying and they’re the future, so that would be a boring answer. But I’ve really liked Tom Bugg over the pre-season. He had a bit of a curveball thrown his way last year, by his own actions. He was disappointed in his actions and to come back and earn some respect – not only from the coaching group, but the playing group as well, has been impressive. Tom McDonald hasn’t been beaten in the two-km time-trial since I’ve been at the club. So, for Tom to get knocked off by Buggy shows how much work Buggy has been putting in – and he has been putting in a lot to win back respect. There is also a good little small forward brigade going on. Alex Neal-Bullen is a very good runner, trainer and future leader, so he’s been going really well, along with Jake Melksham.

MB: You were All-Australian ruckman in 2016. Where do you rank entering 2018?

MG: I’m a bit of a ruck nerd and I rate all 17 ruckmen in the game for different aspects of their game. I’d like to think I’ve got a good balance on a lot of aspects, but there are guys who definitely have better parts of their game than me. I’ve only pulled a rabbit out of the hat once in my career, so I’ve got to back that up. I wasn’t able to last year. Paddy Ryder was very good last year with his ruck craft and mobility around the ground. Brodie Grundy was getting numbers that other ruckmen haven’t. Stefan Martin is still as strong as ever and is keeping one of the best young ruckmen out of the side in Archie Smith. Aaron Sandilands and Nic Naitanui, who were both injured last year, they’re All-Australians, who will be back this year. And then there is the other All-Australian, Todd Goldstein, who will be back from injury and form a combination with the strongest ruckman in the game, Braydon Preuss. It’s really exciting, if you’re a ruck nerd.

MB: You’ve got plenty of interests away from the game. What are you up to?

MG: Well, the woodwork fell away as soon as Matt Jones and Max King decided to get full-time jobs. I realised I had to do the work and I wasn’t able to do that. I’ve got a little food truck on the way, which is a step into hospitality, which is where I want to be. My brother is making a food truck up in Queensland at the moment. I’ll bring it to a couple of markets and festivals. Hopefully I can park it at the ‘G for some Melbourne games. So, that’ll be fun and I’ve got a couple of other things in the hospitality pipeline, which is something I’m pretty passionate about.

MB: Still make a mean coffee?

MG: When I first started as a barista, I thought it was a cool talent that no one really had. But I soon realised that everyone could make coffee and no one really cares. I still enjoy getting behind the coffee machine or in the kitchen or behind the till. I just enjoy hospitality.

MB: How’s your Mum’s café, Olive at Loch, going in Gippsland?

MG: I think she gets too many plugs. I would like a dividend every time I give her a plug, so I’m not going to.

MB: You’re just about New Zealand’s No.1 cricket fan. Tell us about your passion for the Black Caps.

MG: I’m a mad Black Caps fan, because of my heritage. I love what the Black Caps have put on show in recent years – the 2015 World Cup [loss to Australia at the MCG] will go down as the best and worst day of my life. I’m passionate about cricket and I love following it. Anyone who follows me on social media knows that I definitely tweet about cricket. I’m also a keen observer of the Australian cricket team and the Australian domestic scene. Summer is a good time for me. I love my cycling and tennis as well, particularly the Australian Open. They’re three sports that I’m incredibly interested in and apart from that, I wouldn’t watch any other sport at all. I’m known to get up at 4am and watch the Tour of Oman, the cycling. I’m also known to get up at 3 or 4am to watch European tennis. They’re things that I’m pretty passionate about – although I don’t know why or how it came about. They’re just two other sports I’ve taken a bit interest in.

MB: You love your music. Are you still dabbling in DJ-ing?

MG: It was a bit like when I was a barista. I felt like I was the only one doing it, but then when I saw some other teammates doing it, I felt like it wasn’t much of a talent. The DJ decks have some cobwebs on it at the moment. I don’t have the passion for it now, like when I was a DJ at nightclubs when I was 21. But I still love my music and am the resident DJ at the club. I throw it around the club during the week and at weights session, but I definitely take the cake on match days.

MB: Is hospitality your post-footy career move?

MG: Hospitality will keep a window open for me. Eventually you could give yourself some days off, if it’s your own business. It would be flexible for something down the line, if I got involved with the media or coaching. I reckon I’ll be 38 when I retire, although it might be earlier, but I’ll probably know what I want to do by then. I might have a family by then or I might want to travel. I might want to go to the Tour de France or go to the US Open.

MB: Do you still love footy as much as you did as a kid or when you first started?

MG: It’s a very good job. Pre-season is one of the best times of the year. You’re paid to stay fit and you’re in the sun a lot, so you get your vitamin C and you’re hanging out with some of your best mates every day. You get weekends off, so there is not much stress with wins and losses. During the year, it can be up and down. I’m not too bad post losses, but the team that we’ve been – and where we’ve been in the past eight or nine years – there has definitely been some stress levels previously. But I’m getting to stay fit and healthy, and as much as there are some bad parts to this job, there is a lot of rewarding parts.

MB: Ok, your tip. Who will win Melbourne’s best and fairest and who will be the club’s most improved player?

MG: I’d like to see one of the best Melbourne players ever, Nathan Jones, get another accolade to his trophy cabinet. If he becomes a Melbourne premiership player, he could become Melbourne’s greatest player, with the amount of best and fairests he’s won. I’d like to see Jonesy back to where he belongs – right up among the top of the best and fairest. For most improved, he’s probably one of our highly-credential players, but I reckon Jesse Hogan, who is a star in the making, is going to produce something special this year.

MB: And finally, what can we expect from Melbourne this year?

MG: I’ve been involved in a few pre-seasons where there’s been expectations and a lot of the time we haven’t delivered. I don’t sense too much noise, but I know we’ve got a lot of positivity and confidence within the group. We think we can play some good footy and we showed that against some of the best teams in the competition in 2017. We’ll go from there – there is only one way from finishing ninth and that’s climbing up and playing finals.