Having been a key part of North Melbourne’s football staff for 20 years, Jona Segal has been witness to some of the all-time greats.

An elite runner himself, the Roos’ High Performance Manager is often seen setting the pace for the players in pre-season time-trials.

For Segal, the likes of Sam Gibson and Nathan Grima, and going further back, Shannon Grant and the Stevens’ brothers stand out as some of the best athletes.

But when it comes to the best trainers, one player stands out from the rest.

“’Arch’ is probably the best I’ve seen in terms of … he just trained like he played, it was just the most competitive thing every session,” Segal told North Media.

“You speak to guys that played and trained with him, and there’d be stories of them just getting whacked at training, either if he’d lost a contest and was filthy, or wasn’t happy with the intensity of training.

“He was exceptional.”

Watch the full interview with Segal below, with topics including the players’ return to footy, some unconventional approaches to training, and the club’s strength and conditioning team has approached the pandemic.