The training load has increased exponentially since the beginning of the pre-season with hours of sprinting and endurance activities piled onto the players from early morning well into the evening, with few precious breaks.
Senior player Leigh Montagna said the camp was a hard slog, especially for the new draftees.
“It’s good fun. A bit of bonding for the boys, and a nice relief from training they’ve been doing so far,” Montagna told SAINTS.com.au.
The 31-year-old is rooming with Daniel McKenzie, St Kilda’s third pick and number 23 overall in the National Draft, and is mentoring him through the challenges of the elite football program.
“We spent last week with the younger boys so that was a good experience just to get to know them a bit more before they met the group,” Montagna said.
“But they’re a terrific bunch of kids, nice fellas, very competitive. You can already see that in the training that they’re pretty eager and keen to get into it, which is what we like.”
The training schedules alternate between 6am boxing sessions and late afternoon hill sprints with weights, skills, craft and recovery sessions peppered throughout the day.
Their competitive instincts are also being exercised through fun activities like white water rafting, mountain bike riding, swimming and waterpolo.
A marking competition has been set up during the week with players going up against each other in one-on-one knockout rounds. The last man standing will be crowned on the final day before the group heads back to Melbourne on Saturday afternoon.
A hike through the Remarkables mountain range on Friday has been forced to change course due to poor weather conditions. The team will undertake the hike through alternate route with rugged terrain for around five hours.
