The 26-year-old, whose AFL career spanned eight years between Geelong and Essendon, has seen the highs and lows of football and knows first-hand the importance of having a life balance and direction outside of AFL.
At Whitten Oval, Prismall's experience, leadership qualities and communication skills make him the perfect sounding board and mentor for the broader Bulldog playing group but in particular, the developing players.
“It’s bit of a sliding doors sort of thing that Brett Goodes goes onto the list and there was an opening for his position,” Prismall said.
“Working with younger players and mentoring and taking a bit of an interest in what they do outside of football is also something that I’ve probably taken a bit more interest in - after myself having some injuries and seeing that football doesn’t last forever.
“So it is part of my role now to pass that onto this group, that off field is a pretty important part of your life and it is a good balance for players to have something outside.”
A large portion of Prismall’s role will be guiding the players through off field matters and preparing them for life after football, but the midfielder is also on hand to impart knowledge from his on field experience.
“I’ve been through some real highs in my career where I played in finals and played in a successful team in Geelong and been through… individual lows where I have been injured and been traded and have been through a lot of things for someone in an eight year career,” he said.
“I feel like I’ve got a fair bit to pass on, but in saying that I think there are a lot of things that have been thrown at me in the first couple of days and I have learnt a fair bit early on.”
After training with the Bulldogs ahead of the 2012 pre-season draft, Prismall started at Whitten Oval in an official capacity in the lead up to Christmas and is now beginning to find his feet in the new role.
Working alongside Senior Coach Brendan McCartney however, has required little adjustment with Prismall having already spent time playing under him at both Geelong and Essendon.
“[McCartney] has been fantastic… and I owe him a fair bit, so he has been great,” he said.
“I’ve told him how excited I am to come back and work with him and I see the vision that he has got for this football Club and where he wants to be in the future.
“If I can play some sort of small part to guide the group off the field in that way, then I’ve done my job and I am looking forward to the next few years to get to that goal and keep on improving.”
