If any footballer deserves a no-nonsense piece written about him, it is Collingwood premiership player Luke Ball. He is a no-nonsense footballer in an era when nonsense seems to surround us.

Take Dale Thomas's brilliant left-foot banana goal last week. His silent partner in the production was Ball, on his knees, scrambling for the contested ball, his sharp left-handed handball fired from the ground to a lurking Thomas.

That's an image Collingwood supporters have come to know in the 33 games Ball has played for the club since crossing from St Kilda at the end of 2009.

Ball has become one of those players to be appreciated, a footballer's footballer like Hawthorn's Sam Mitchell, the Brisbane Lions' Simon Black, Essendon's Jobe Watson, North Melbourne's Andrew Swallow or Ball's cousin, Sydney Swan Josh Kennedy.

Ball is the sort of player whose genius lies in his ability (and courage) to find, win and then dispense of the ball.

He can push a contested ball into space for Collingwood's swarm of runners to pounce, like the bloke opening the bag of helium balloons and watching them head skywards.

Such players make a big difference, without being flashy.

What is interesting about Ball, however, is that he wasn't born to be such a player.

"When I was drafted, I was actually one of the quickest guys over 20m," he said.

Such was Ball's athletic prowess as a junior, his test results from the 2001 AFL Draft Camp have recently been published in an AFL youth coaching manual as an example of the draft camp profile of an outstanding athlete and potential AFL player.

He carried the perfect physical dimensions for a midfielder, had good anaerobic power scores and skinfold measurements that showed he was in excellent shape.

What strikes the reader instantly, however, was Ball's speed. He was in the top three per cent at the camp, recording a 20m sprint time of 2.85 seconds. The AFL average in the 20m sprint test at the camp is now 3.03 seconds.

Now, glimpses of Ball's pace off the mark are mostly seen when he charges through a stoppage, hitting the contest with the ferocious intent only a man trying to smash down a door can match.

"I certainly had to change my game a bit, struggling with groin injuries," Ball said.

He became the sort of player who reads the game, works the angles, finds space and hunts the ball. And he worked to become better at performing the skills he needed to be that sort of player.

"One thing these days with the speed of the game and the pressure others put on is being clean and being a one-touch player," he said.

"I guess typically (if) you are not an outside or really quick player, that becomes extra important.

"It's something, not only myself, but a lot of players do a lot of work on. It's something that's pretty easy to control, too.

"There's a lot of talk these days about training services guys controlling your load, but getting as many touches of the footy as you can during the week is something that's very controllable and something I certainly subscribe to."

Reinventing oneself is a process all footballers must go through if they are going to forge a long career in the game, recognising what they are rather than what they might have been expected to be.

Self-belief and a capacity for hard work are the ingredients required to adapt. Ball has both. 

He was impressed with comments Carlton player Brock McLean made after the game last weekend on ABC Radio about reinventing himself and the challenges facing a player who knows he still has plenty to offer but not in the same manner he may have been expected to early in his career.

You get the sense he understands the process McLean (an ‘inside' player trying to broaden his repertoire) is working through.

"That's your reality sometimes. If your body doesn't let you do what maybe you once could have or what your mind is telling it to do, you have to work out a way around that and work out a way you can still be a very effective player and play a good role for the team within your capabilities," Ball said.

Ball's role at Collingwood has been so critical to its improvement. He is an extractor at stoppages, a clean centre-square player who can also force the ball forward under pressure. He would keep his feet in a raging river and his tackles stick.

The Magpies' dominance in the inside-50 count since the arrival of Ball and Darren Jolly is no coincidence. That duo's presence, alongside Scott Pendlebury and Dane Swan, has made them a super starting four, the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young of the centre bounce.

They also have a good supporting cast in Thomas, Sharrod Wellingham, Alan Didak, Cameron Wood, Leigh Brown and Jarryd Blair, who can share the load with Heath Shaw's run off the wing also important.

Although everyone knows that winning centre clearances is critical, particularly with the forward press capable of trapping the ball inside 50 once it's forward, those who are specialists inside that space are pivotal.

"It's always a pretty high-pressured environment in there," Ball said. "Rarely these days do you get the ruckman shoving the ball down your throat and you are on the fly and streaming out of there.

"A lot of times these days it's really about who can get their hands on it cleanly and clear and kick it forward."

Collingwood knew Ball was very good at kicking the ball forward under pressure, gaining metres, clearing the ball into space.

His kicking effectiveness might have appeared low on paper, but the old system of measuring kicks did not incorporate pressure into the equation as well as Champion Data does in 2011.

Ball's teammate Ben Johnson said earlier in the season when discussing kicking that Ball was one player marked hard in that area outside the club, despite everyone in the team understanding where and how he was getting his touches, and therefore understanding his true value.

Ball said he is glad Champion Data's change takes into account the pressure a player is under when disposing of the ball.

Of course, it would sell Ball short to paint him as someone who only looks good up close. He has kicked six goals straight this season and uses the ball well enough when in space, but his elite moments come in contests.

Ball's determination to succeed becomes even more evident when the subject turns to his courage.

When asked whether throwing himself into spaces where the outcome is uncertain has always been part of his make-up, he said he wasn't sure.

He knows he was lightly framed growing up and said he never had the attitude someone such as Brisbane Lions captain Jonathan Brown seems to have been born with.

Ball just trained himself to become the player he is, making what seems to mere mortals a startling admission, one that might come with a ‘Don't try this at home' warning.

"In the early days, I can remember I used to visualise myself doing courageous things before a game. Even to the extent where you visualise yourself being carried off on a stretcher. I know that sounds funny but those sorts of things you try to train the mind as much as you can," he said.

"It's something I used to use as a bit of a trigger and probably still do every now and again. I know that sounds pretty extreme, but it's picturing yourself taking the hit and getting hurt and then bouncing back from that."

Hearing Ball articulate such a process is fascinating, but he follows the comment with a very realistic appraisal of where the notion of courage should fit in the football landscape.

He wondered whether what players are prepared to do might be going too far. The incident where Alan Toovey ran back into a charging pack two weeks ago springs to Ball's mind as he thinks out loud.

"Sometimes, the expectations we put on players to do things like that is too much and sometimes you are better off being smarter rather than being courageous," he said.

It is reassuring to hear Ball's words because anyone watching Toovey from the stands felt sick for the next half hour as they worried for his welfare. Ball admitted he was probably getting smarter through necessity, as you could only take so many hits to the head.
 
"I'm a little bit better in the way I approach a contest or tackle. The danger is when you are fatigued in a game and stop doing what comes naturally," he said.

Such fatigue is a concern clubs have with the substitute rule, wondering whether players with tired bodies (and, importantly, fatigued minds) are more likely to find themselves unable to extract themselves from dangerous positions.

Ball is well qualified to expand on such issues. His football pedigree is impeccable; the grandson of wingman Felix Russo, who played 14 games with St Kilda from 1950-51 and was described by The Age as "a beautifully built athlete" after making his debut.

His father Ray Ball played 55 games in defence for Richmond (12 games) and South Melbourne (43) from 1969-74, while his uncle Peter Russo was a hard-running on-baller, whose 162 games with Hawthorn included the 1978 and 1986 premierships (and five Grand Finals). He ended his career with 33 games for St Kilda.

Ball's older brother Matthew played 17 games with the Hawks from 2004-06, while their cousin Josh Kennedy is forging a career with the Sydney Swans, reborn after leaving the Hawks.

No wonder Ball's sister Sophie has always joked that she had no choice but to like football. "That was all that was spoken about around the dinner table growing up," Ball said.

The only glimpse Ball has seen of his dad on the football field is on a footy card and Ray is apparently not one to relive past deeds.

"He doesn't like talking about when he played too much. We've never seen footage. I don't know whether he's hiding it from us or not," Ball said jokingly.

"I was lucky growing up. Dad was always happy to be out the back kicking the footy and giving me, and my older brother as well, advice."

Remarkably, with all the hoopla and hype that surrounded his departure from the Saints, it is a topic that has become old news quickly.

This weekend will be the sixth time he has played against the Saints since his departure. As always, his comments are positive.

"It will be a good game. They were always going to bounce back again and get back into form," he said.
 
Ball knows all about bouncing back. He's shown that capacity again and again. Such is life in the ranks of those with quick hands and quick minds in the AFL, Ball now the vital cog in a relay race in which he once might have run the anchor leg.

FACT FILE
Born: May 25, 1984
Recruited from: Xavier College/Sandringham U18/St Kilda
Debut: Round 1, 2003 v North Melbourne
Height: 183cm  Weight: 83kg
Games: 175  Goals: 71
Player honours: St Kilda best & fairest 2005 (equal); St Kilda 2nd best & fairest 2004; All-Australian 2005; International Rules 2004; Rising Star nominee 2003; Collingwood premiership side 2010; Collingwood pre-season premiership side 2011; St Kilda pre-season premiership sides 2004, 2008; St Kilda captain 2006, co-captain 2007
Brownlow Medal: career votes 32