At the time Filo was in the early days of what became a successful era as playing coach of Eaglehawk Football Netball Club.

The Borough's creed was built on a high workrate and unflinching desire to chase, tackle, shepherd, block and more.

"They are the non-negotiables," Filo said.

Although it may not have been the most skilful or quickest team in the league, Eaglehawk's willingness to do the "one per-centers" played a big part in not only contesting finals, but winning them.

Watch the best teams in any league and it's their desire to get the "little things" to stack up that sets them apart.

That was clearly shown across the weekend's AFL action.

The grand final rematch between Hawthorn and Sydney showed just how much of an emphasis those teams place on pressure, and not just for a few minutes, but sustained.

On the flipside there is Carlton.

Blues' fans are eagerly awaiting their team to crack in and give their all.

What players do when their team does not have possession is closely followed by coaches and recruiters.

In today's footy it's not just all about the speccy marks, checkside goals and bone-jarring bumps.

A speecy or a brilliant goal such as the one kicked by Jake Stringer for the Western Bulldogs on Sunday will always excite the fans.

Renowned for his emphasis on strong defence during his coaching stint at St Kilda and now at Fremantle, Ross Lyon has the Dockers flying.

In terms of pressure acts, Fremantle's Chris Mayne, pictured, is one of the AFL's best.

Mayne's play is overshadowed by the exploits from the likes of Fyfe, Pavlich, Sandilands and Ballantyne, but his worth to the Dockers can never be under-estimated.

You only have to be at a TAC Cup match to see the KPI (key performance indicators) board being shown during each quarter.

In a game where wins are highly sought-after and competitiveness is a must, it's the desire to chase and tackle that can be the difference between success or not.

Meanwhile, week two in the Bendigo Community Health 12-week fitness challenge has kicked off.

Four training sessions done and a week on the diet plan and I can proudly declare that I'm feeling a lot healthier.

Workouts at Shape Fitness, individual and group, have provided a greater insight as to what boxers go through to prepare for a bout and to maintain fitness.

There's no chance of Doley sparring with Bendigo's own Olympic boxer Lynden Hosking at any time, but the boxing is a great challenge.