AFL Cairns: How Tigers new high performance manager is transforming the football department
Rupturing his ACL in the finals last season, Dougal Middleton simply couldn’t keep away from footy. He used his background in exercise science and experience with the Taipans, Queensland cricket and Northern Pride to give Tigers the best pre-season they’ve had in years >>>
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Devastation struck Tigers utility Dougal Middleton in the AFL Cairns preliminary final against Saints last season. In a contest on the wing at Cazalys, Middleton ruptured his ACL and soon discovered he wouldn’t just be missing the remainder of the 2023 season, but the 2024 campaign as well. Despite the detrimental setback, the 32-year-old said he simply couldn’t keep away from footy, with his mind immediately drifting to catapulting the Tigers football program as the high-performance manager. “I got back into footy after a few years off, initially just for a casual kick about in the three’s,” he said. “Before I knew it, I was the only player playing across all three grades, got to know the playing group and was deeply entrenched in the club’s culture. “I was taken in by the fact there was no hierarchical system across the club, everyone’s valued at the same level. “After the injury, I still wanted to be around, so how can I help the club? “I sat down with management, the president, and coaches and said ‘I see a big gap in community footy to implement a high-performance medical role no different from an AFL or VFL club’. “The treatment to a community football player should be no different from a VFL player.”
A seasoned professional in the realm of sports science, Middleton has been leveraging his expertise in exercise science and prior experience with teams like the Taipans (2021-22), Northern Pride (2022-) and Queensland Cricket (2023-) to breathe new life into the Tigers’ pre-season regimen since his appointment. He is currently the only high-performance manager in AFL Cairns. “The main focus here is about injury prevention and injury assessment,” Middleton said. “The players are happy to come to me after training, after matches, and I look at if players need physio, imaging, injections, any referral on. “It’s almost like a middle man across the club.”
Additionally, he runs rehabilitation sessions, educates players on nutrition and concussion protocols, and oversees the club’s medical facilities and equipment. Drawing from his diverse background, Middleton integrates lessons learned from his time at the Taipans and endurance events like the Cairns Ironman into the Tigers’ training regimen. “It was seeing what the elite athlete is like and their expectations,” he said. “Translating a small basketball group to a big football club with over 50 players, it’s about managing what you can manage. “Cairns’ climate is different from anywhere else you can work. With Ironman especially, it’s about hydration, recovery, and nutrition, and I’m trying to bring that into the community level.”
Middleton said he had seen double the numbers across pre-season training, emphasising the group’s buy-in to the program, with fitness levels going beyond expectations. “The goal is to win a premiership and all signs say we’ve got the potential to do that,” Middleton said. “It’s a career highlight working with players I’ve played with, but also in a club that’s on the rise, and the ceiling is unbelievable with this group.”
Reflecting on his broader aspirations, Middleton sees his current role as a stepping stone towards a future in elite football management and envisions a potential path leading to VFL or AFL involvement. Beyond his professional endeavours, Middleton’s dedication to his passion extends to international sports medicine, as evidenced by his recent stint with the Australian hockey team during the hockey 5s World Cup in Oman. Although he hopes to be back on the field in 2025, Middleton continues to chart the Tigers’ course towards success in an innovative new role. His story stands as a testament to the resilience in finding ways to stay a part of footy through heartbreaking setbacks.
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Originally published as AFL Cairns: How Tigers new high performance manager is transforming the football department
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