STAR Darley recruit Mitch Banner has been surprised by the training standards at his new home.
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The former Port Adelaide player made the move to Darley at the end of last year, leaving VFL club Williamstown to start the next phase in his football career.
In his short time at the club thus far Banner has already lived up to expectations on the training track, regularly dominating in the running and providing another strong voice for the playing group.
But the 25-year-old told The Courier that one of the most impressed people at the Devils was probably himself.
"In terms of the skill level and fitness, it's actually not too far off state level," Banner said.
"There are a lot of guys that push me. It's obviously a step down from what I'm used to and the workload is a little less, but we're still training hard.
"The group has been great so far."
The acquisition of Banner was a boom signing for the Ballarat Football League club, particularly given the loss of premiership players Andrew Challis and Nathan Lyons.
Henderson medalist Jake Edwards is a possible no-show for this season, after signing with Geelong's VFL side, while talented trio Luke Delahey, Matt Inglis and Leigh Spiteri are also training with the Cats.
As such, Banner looms as a key piece of the puzzle if the Devils are to go back-to-back this season.
Banner, a hard-running midfielder, played 19 games for Port Adelaide after being drafted from the Western Jets with pick 42 in the 2008 national draft.
Delisted at the end of 2012, Banner moved back to Victoria to play with Williamstown – a wise decision, as Banner became a premiership player with the club last season.
There were rumours late last year that the Victorian was hoping to be drafted back into the AFL system.
However, Banner revealed that wasn't actually the case.
"It was never a thought of mine," Banner said.
"That was something brought up by (Williamstown coach) Andy Collins, but I had no intentions of going back. My time was up at that level.
"I was always going to come back to local footy."
Banner then went on the hunt to find a club that would give him what he wanted in his football.
It didn't take him long to realise that he wanted to play in the BFL.
"I had played enough state level footy," Banner said.
"I wanted to enjoy footy and play for the love of it. I was always wanting to go play country footy … I didn't really want to go play metro.
"Going to the BFL to play football made sense. My partner is from Darley and I'm best mates with (Devils’ midfielder) Steve Kennedy."
The move has so far proved fruitful for Banner, who said he is enjoying being able to have time for things other than just football.
"I guess you get more freedom outside footy. At 'Willy' we trained a fair bit and played a lot of Sunday games and had a lot of Saturday training sessions," he said.
"Now I have couple of sessions less to relax."
Though still young, Banner is destined to bring strong leadership to the Devils this season given his experience at AFL, VFL and TAC Cup level.
Banner does not have an official leadership role at the club but has been trying to lend his experience to the playing group, particularly through his standards on the track, which he said was imperative to success.
"It's the way you train," Banner said.
"If you go through the motions, it's quite easy to get lost.
“Coming from state level, I want to bring the mentality of getting fitter, running harder, training harder and getting the most out of yourself."