Max Gawn says missing AFL finals in 2017 spurred his dramatic weight loss

MELBOURNE big man Max Gawn was “a bit scared” about taking on the AFL’s biggest bodies after his dramatic off-season weight loss. And he says the real test will come soon.

Max Gawn kicks the ball during a Melbourne Demons AFL training session. Pic: Getty Images

MELBOURNE’S forgettable finish to its 2017 season was the catalyst for Max Gawn’s pre-season of punishment that resulted in the star ruckman’s dramatic weight loss.

The Demons missed the finals after slumping to Collingwood in Round 23 and the big man says the loss “sat in his mind for 12 weeks” and was a driving factor in his new-look physique after returning to training.

Gawn pounded the pavement ahead of his pre-season return and admits at one stage fearing not being able to physically compete with the AFL’s biggest bodies.

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“I lost eight kilos over the break,” he said

“As you can imagine, Round 23 didn’t sit well with a few people and I thought ‘why not change something?’ and I did.

“I’ve put on a tiny bit since I’ve been back ... I don’t think somebody my size was supposed to be that light to play football, so I’ve put on about three or four (kilograms) but I’m still at a relatively good weight.”

Gawn told SEN he enjoyed his 12-week break at the end of the season but recalling his side’s finish spurred him into gear, the star ruckman punished himself in the lead up to the Demons’ first official day back at work.

Max Gawn cuts a lean figure at training. Picture: Getty Images

Gawn: “I was a little bit scared going in ...” Pic: Getty Images

“Almost every morning I was out of action until about 11 o’clock, even when I was in New York and LA, doing some sort of training,” he said.

“I wanted to be as fit as I could, especially when I got back from my hamstring last year, I probably looked underdone.

“A couple of ruckmen were probably running me around the park and that’s not how I wanted to play my footy, so I thought why not try to use that break to get as fit as I could?”

Gawn admitted to some concern over losing strength as a result of his new shape — especially given the Dees will again likely rely heavily on their centre square star — but said recent testing had given him confidence that while not possessing the same bulk, he had maintained his power.

“I was a little bit scared going in ... I’ve got two young guys that I’m testing myself against (young ruckmen Mitch King and rookie Lachie Filipovic) but I’m not going to know if I’m at that required strength until (I play a bigger opponent),” he said.

Gawn faces North Melbourne's Braydon Preuss early in the pre-season. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

“I’ve got (North Melbourne’s) Braydon Preuss in the NAB Cup, so I think I’ll find out then.”

With the heartache of missing finals last year now a memory, Gawn says the Demons are firmly focused on improving their 2017 record.

“It’s (Round 23) a motivating thing until you get back to day one (of training),” he said.

“That was our breakup, that was the last day we had together and then we went on a break for 12 weeks, so it’s the last thing you remember, so that sat in my mind for 12 weeks.

“I wanted to be playing in September and I wasn’t.

“Then day one we get back, we addressed it on day one and we haven’t talked about it since

“You use it as good stuff to (motivate and) train hard and now we’re talking about 2018.”

Originally published as Max Gawn says missing AFL finals in 2017 spurred his dramatic weight loss