A few of the boys and I are looking forward to doing a weekly blog to give you an update on how we are going each week with training, working and basically settling into becoming AFL footballers.
I hope you enjoy it!
Monday
Monday morning I arrived at the Club to begin the week of preparation and training ahead of Round 1. It felt different from other weeks and all the boys were up and about with the first game of the season finally here after a long pre-season.
In the morning, all the guys who had played for Sandringham over the weekend had a meeting with Development Manager Paul Hudson. Huddo discussed the match and outlined the positive aspects from the game as well as the areas that we needed to improve in.
At 2pm we had main training. I definitely noticed a difference in this training session compared to the training sessions throughout the NAB Cup. There was a real energy throughout the session as everyone knew that our match against Geelong on Friday night was not too far away!
Tuesday
As part of the new ‘Earn or Learn’ program at the Club, I have recently begun an electrical apprenticeship so on Tuesday I worked from 7:30pm until 3:30pm. After work a number of first to third year players had a late training session at the Club, to ensure we could still get our training done along with our work or study. After training we had a weights and a bike fitness session to keep up our conditioning. I left the Club at 7:30pm after a long and busy day!
Wednesday
At 10am I was in at the Club for massage and physio appointments. We then had meetings ahead of training, looking particularly at the areas and game plan that we would be working on during training with a strong focus on our opposition on Friday night - Geelong.
After training, the Round 1 team was announced and all players in the side had a meeting to analyse the Geelong side. I was really excited to be picked as an emergency so it was great to be part of this process for the first time!
Wednesday night was then my turn to cook for housemates Al Smith and Waz Andreoli. Just between you and me, I am clearly the best cook, but Smithy likes to think he’s somewhat of a masterchef!
Thursday
It was another solid eight hour day working on my apprenticeship on Thursday. After work it was straight to Moorabbin where the group met to do weights and a light ‘touch’ ball skills session. As I am listed as an emergency for Friday night I then went to Sandy with a few of the boys for training and to take part in the team meeting for the practice game on the weekend. Assuming I don’t play against Geelong I should still get a run with Sandy on Saturday.
Friday
Today I will be preparing as if I am playing in tonight’s match against Geelong, to make sure I am ready to go should I be needed. I will go to the game and warm up with the team in case someone within the 22 is not right to play. It is really exciting to be part of this process and to get my first look at the way the side goes about match day during the proper AFL Premiership Season.
Hoping to see my first Saints win tonight at the MCG, it’s sure to be a great game!
Thanks for reading my blog.
GO SAINTS!
Jamie #35
