With over 400 current and past players now on Twitter and many with their own website, I think it is pretty clear that most of the guys see there is real value in having a presence in the digital realm.

For me, I find it great to connect with fans on a more personal level. You get a lot of fans asking questions and providing support and it is nice to be able to respond.

You can see what has happened in US sport and how social media has led to sponsorship deals and opportunities for players to build their own brand and I think sports personalities in Australia are starting to recognise this opportunity as well.

It has revolutionised the way players and fans interact in the US and has also allowed players to fight for causes we are passionate about.

Last year we had a similar opportunity in what was a huge year for the Players’, with the all important CBA negotiations taking place.

It was a year of learning, not only through the negotiations but also learning the real power of social media as we utilised it to educate the public on the negotiations, put forward our opinions on the various claims and most importantly show our support for our Association throughout their negotiations with the AFL.

At our player meeting held at Crown Casino in Melbourne, there were over 700 of us connected nationally via video link with screens set up in each state where players were stationed. But what was just as exciting was that through social media we were connected and united as a group and through players tweeting were also able to connect fans to this historic moment.

The next year is going to a fascinating time to see how this evolving area develops and I believe in years to come there will be more AFL players using social media than nearly any sporting code in the world.

For our entire industry this is incredibly exciting and there is no stopping this now and as a collective we are embracing social media because at the end of the day it is what is best for the players, the fans and the game of AFL football.