He was "thick as thieves" with Harry Kewell and Lucas Neill, worked with former English Premier League club Blackburn Rovers and has been part of two Olympic Games teams.
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Now David Joyce is charged with finishing the transformation of Greater Western Sydney's boys to men.
It was GWS's links to Canberra, where Joyce was born, that helped lure him to the fledgling club as their new head of athletic performance.
Joyce predicted the emergence of several young Giants as elite players this season, but said they were still be two to three years away from being at their physical peak.
The 39-year-old grew up in Florey, went to Daramalan College and played football for Belconnen before he moved to the University of Queensland to study physiotherapy and his world travels began.
He ended up with then EPL club Blackburn, along with Socceroos Brett Emerton, Lucas Neill and Vince Grella, during one of the English club's most successful periods.
Joyce also worked with Turkish giants Galatasaray, where he helped end Kewell's injury woes.
He also worked with the Great Britain team at the Beijing Olympics and the Chinese team at London 2014.
"I got [Kewell] to play 44 games, which is the most he'd played in 10 years because he was chronically injured," Joyce said.
"The three of us, Lucas, Harry and I, because we were Aussies we were as thick as thieves.
"Harry and I lived probably no more than 200 metres from the training ground, but we had to drive because we'd just never get there if we walked. Obviously nothing to do with me."
A desire to be closer to home took him to Super Rugby province Western Force and then the Giants came knocking.
The personal touch of coach Leon Cameron picking him up from the airport helped seal the deal.
Joyce has worked at some of the biggest clubs and sporting organisations in the world, but he said the way the Giants treat their people is "second to none".
"[Cameron's] wife Carolyn called my partner to say welcome to the family and it's those little things that really epitomise this club," he said.
"It's got the best welfare and looking after people approach of any club I've ever seen anywhere in the world ... which it needs because we would've lost a lot of players if we didn't have that aspect to our club."
Many AFL experts have commented GWS young guns like Dylan Shiel and Adam Treloar have started to look like footballers.
But Joyce predicted they are still a couple of years away from being the finished physical product.
He's eager to remind the football world they're still in their early 20s.
Joyce also believes that "talent needs trauma" and the heavy defeats the Giants suffered in their first few seasons will harden them for success.
"We've earned a seat at the adults table now, but we're still quite a way from our peak," he said.
"This year will see a number of our players break into the elite echelon and the really exciting thing about that is physically they haven't peaked and skill wise they haven't peaked."
Joyce said Saturday's Anzac Day clash with the Gold Coast Suns will be like the "Year 11s playing the Year 12s", but he thinks the development of the Giants has been such they can physically match it with the club that is one year older.
He feels the Suns have greater "natural speed", but thinks the Giants are a "strong group" that can "run all day".
AT A GLANCE
Saturday: GWS Giants v Gold Coast Suns at Manuka Oval, 5.40pm. Tickets available from Ticketek.
