AKA’S bum. It’s big. It’s very big. As big as it’s ever been. It’s bigger than his mouth. All right, perhaps not. But Aka’s rump is particularly ripe right now and it’s made him better.

In fact, when Aka’s bum is in prime condition, Aka hits top gear.

Take last weekend, for example: Akermanis’ first half against Melbourne was a blight on the otherwise quite outstanding period of form he enjoyed over a pre-season that suggested the 31-year-old ex-Lion was far from washed up.

At half-time he was in the Bulldogs’ dressing rooms with half a dozen acupuncture needles in his sore derriere. And then? After the main break, Aka, with his gluteus maximus loose again, put three goals to his name. Aka got back.

While Aka’s bum is one of the few topics Aka hasn’t discussed publicly, it is something he seems to have been doing his best to highlight.

Those who notice the small things at Whitten Oval have noted that the blond-haired, black-bearded one has taken an alternative approach to booty coverage to his teammates at training this year.

While Akermanis’ peers pull on casual, baggy, navy shorts for their midweek sessions, Aka won’t be seen in anything other than bright red, tighter numbers.

Word is that Aka is claiming that the red shorts fit him better. Should he happen to inquire ‘does my bum look big in this?’ the answer would be a resounding yes.

But, in the minds of those who count, Aka’s big bum is big in a good way.

"He has got a big arse!" the head of physical performance at the Bulldogs, Cameron Falloon, chuckled yesterday.

"And it certainly is bigger."

As it happens, the 2008 model of Aka is bigger than the 2007 version all over. And it’s all by design.

When Falloon first met the Dogs’ prize recruit of the 2006 draft in Brisbane in October that year, he remembers feeling rather horrified by the size of him.

"The first thing I thought was, ‘Oh, my god, he’s really lean, he’s really, really trimmed down’," Falloon said.

Akermanis, who had won a Brownlow in 2001 and three premierships with the Lions playing between 83- 85 kilograms, had lost about seven kilograms.

The first weight the Bulldogs have him logged at is 77.5. Last year he didn’t get far over 80, but this week he tipped the scales at 84.7 kilograms.

Almost from the moment of their first meeting, Falloon argued that Akermanis should bulk up.

But, never shy of taking a contrary view, Akermanis said he had deliberately dropped the weight because he was convinced it would prolong his playing career.

He referenced Carlton’s lithe and evergreen champion midfielder Craig Bradley as a case in point.

Falloon and Akermanis continued the debate throughout 2007, a year in which football form, as well as general wellbeing, deserted the fanatically health-conscious player.

At his new lightweight status Akermanis had repeated bouts of gastro, and suffered from conjunctivitis and various other viral infections, though his disappointing on-field results were largely attributed to the soft-tissue injuries he also received.

"Looking back through our training database, every three weeks something would happen. He just had niggle after niggle after niggle," Falloon said yesterday.

Finally, Falloon won the argument and by late last season Akermanis had agreed to try a weight-gain program.

"The thing I kept on saying to Jason was that my really vivid memories of him when he was at the Brisbane Lions at the peak of his powers was that he was this stocky, big-bummed, very powerful kind of guy. And he’d lost that," Falloon said.

"He had big impacts on games at critical moments and that, I thought, largely revolved around the fact that he was a powerful kind of athlete. With his big bum and solid thighs he could really lower his centre of gravity and get power. Gary Ablett (jnr) does it, Wayne Carey used to do it."

But when Akermanis crossed to the Bulldogs he had virtually stopped consuming carbohydrates.

"There was certainly a flow-on affect. It has impact on your strength training, which impacts on your kicking because it impacts on your stabilisers and it affects your power," Falloon said.

So when Akermanis travelled to Italy with his wife Megan last summer he was encouraged to relax and enjoy the local produce.

The pasta, according to Falloon, did him the world of good. Now that footy has resumed, Akermanis’ calorie intake is a more precise science.

"He’s very measured and very methodical," Falloon said.

"After a game he’ll have his own little bag of lollies that he weighs. He’ll have a packet of salt-and-vinegar chips. It needs to be the right kind of weight, of course. But he still is lean enough and the extra energy is helping him to maintain the muscle mass so when he’s running on empty he’s not burning hard-earned valuable muscle."

Even with his heavier frame and more curvaceous rear, Akermanis is still returning top results in his club’s explosive exercise tests.

He remains one of the most advanced players at Whitten Oval at power lifting weights in the gym. Not only this, he is recovering better and faster so week-to-week management is simpler and he trains more.

"He’s right where we want him," Falloon said. "And the main thing is, he feels good about his body. That in itself is an amazing thing because if an athlete feels good about themselves they believe they can do anything."

Aka, of course, has never appeared to doubt his ability at anything.

But given his current condition, chances are he’d be believing he can do what few others have managed in their early 30s and continue to kick some serious butt.