Well finally the whole squad is back into it and training has lifted a gear as the days towards the first trial game close in. At last count there was 17 days till the first trail against the Brumbies up in Darwin. With the heat and the intensity of training at the moment the team looks in good shape and ready to tackle the Brumbies in the heat. But there is still a lot of time and training to go before that hit out.
With the return of Pek Cowan, Salesi Ma’afu, Nathan Sharpe, David Pocock, Ben McCalman and myself from our rest after the Spring Tour, we have a lot to catch up on to reach the main squad after the work they have completed before and after Christmas. With a lot of boys reaching personal best performances on the field and in the gym; with James Stannard being the front runner on the field picking up the best Yo Yo (fitness test) score in the Forces history. With the rest of the squad turning their attention to team skills and contact work, it is up to us six blokes under the watchful eye of strength and conditioning coach Charlie Higgins to get up to speed in both strength and fitness.
At the present we are doing battle amongst our selves in Yo Yo fitness testing, Strongman competitions, shuttles runs and (the Props favourite) 10 sec running efforts going every 20 seconds (trying to hit the 60meter mark or 50 for the props). After all that we still train with the main squad with units (line outs and scrum) and weights. But it is all worth it as the season is so close and the more pain we go through now, the better we will feel come round one in Canberra.
We head to Margaret River tomorrow for a three day training camp. Although there will be beautiful surroundings, there will be no let up in training. So if you are in the area come down and show your support as we slog it out on the pitch. We will be training at Glouster Rugby Park on Thursday afternoon and in the morning on both Friday and Saturday. Don’t be afraid as the boys will love the support from the fans and will gladly sign Jerseys, caps, posters etc…
Hopefully see you there !!!
If there is anything you would like me to write about or people I should interview in this blog section please let me know. Also please feel free to contact me if you would like anything added or changed to the site.
Thank you to Matty G and Kristy Wright for their skills in getting this website together; it is still a work in progress but without their help it would not have happened at all.
Hodgo
