Saturday 13 August
11.30pm – Home, Beaumaris
After such a big build up, Saturday night ended up being a tough night at the office for us. I hopped into the pool as soon as I got home, which was about 90 minutes after the final siren. In the middle of Melbourne’s winter, the pool is colder than an ice bath, so it’s something I do as soon as I get home after every game. Our slim finals hopes ended, but my brother, Tyson and his partner, Mia, are staying over with my niece, Leni, so having them here is a great distraction. We stay up for a while eating steak sandwiches and flick on the Olympics in the background. Tyson has just moved down from Gladstone, so with Lachie in Perth it’s great having a brother around again. It takes me hours to get to sleep after a night game. I’m still wide awake at 2am. It’s always difficult to switch off, no matter what the result is.
Sunday 14 August
11am – Jindivick
After a bit of a sleep in I jumped in the car with my brother and go and pick up a dune buggy I recently bought. We head up to my girlfriend’s family farm in Jindivick, which is about 90 minutes from home and give it a spin. We’re lucky the weather has turned it on for the day – it was a cracking day out there, nothing but blue skies. After a few hours on the farm we pack up and head back to Melbourne. Safe to say I’ll be doing a fair bit of this in the months to come. It’s always good to escape from footy and from Melbourne for a few hours whenever you can.
5pm – Home, Beaumaris
Got back in the pool when I got home to continue to work the soreness out from last night. It usually takes me two or three days to feel good again after a game, so it’s handy having the pool in the backyard. We then had a low key dinner at home and I spent the night playing with Leni. By 9.30 I’m sound asleep and I’m out for about 12 hours. I always sleep like a baby the second night after a game. Best sleep of the week no doubt.
Join the players and coaches at the 2016 best and fairest and celebrate an exciting season
Monday 15 August
11am – Moorabbin
We started the week with a meeting with the Laws of the Game committee at the club’s base in Linton Street with all eight members of our leadership group. Straight after that we had our weekly leadership group meeting which focuses on the weekend’s performance before some peer assessment on our previous week of work. It’s always a really open, honest discussion in these meetings with plenty of topics to cover. We spoke about ‘Chips’’ and ‘Hick’s’ injuries and who could potentially come in to replace them.
After that we had our flush run out on the ground. This just involves getting the body moving again after the weekend, some light touch work to get a feel of the footy again and then we had a thorough stretch before rotating through for a 45 minute massage. I always use Anthony for my massages. Later in the day we reviewed the weekend’s game, which obviously was a game of two entirely different halves. The first half was great; the second half was bitterly disappointing. We spoke for about an hour about how we couldn’t handle the finals like intensity the Swans brought when the game was there to be won. It’s obviously the next stage in our development as a team. I left Moorabbin at 3.30 with my body feeling much better than when I walked in the door.
7.30pm – Southland
My partner, Sammie, and I went to see the new movie, Sausage Party, at Southland. We had a quick bite beforehand then sat in on a movie that I would describe as strange but interesting. A little bit different to what I usually like, but good to get out of the house on a Monday night. I’ve been really into the TV series, Ray Donovan, lately. I’m hooked. And I constantly find myself watching the Discovery Channel of late. Anything to do with Alaska and I’m all over it.
Tuesday 16 August
7.45am – Linen House Centre, Seaford
We had an early start as a forwards group on Tuesday morning after a disappointing weekend. We spent 45 minutes on the track with ‘Sammy’ Hamill first thing in the morning working on our touch; it was something we felt that as a collective we weren’t as sharp as we have been in recent weeks so we wanted to get the week moving in our favour.
After a short, sharp session we went into the gym for our first weights session of the week. I’ve got a modified program with my weights. I need to be really careful with what I do in the gym otherwise I put on weight that I don’t need to carry around with me. So while some struggle to put on weight easily, I’m in the opposite category where I’m focused on building my power and explosiveness. My sessions usually last about 30-40 minutes, which is a lot shorter than other people’s. But I’ve worked out a method that works for me and I’ve worked out that 88kg is my optimum playing weight at the minute.
By 10 we have our offense review meeting with the entire group. In this meeting we all go through individually whether we lived up to our trademark on the weekend. There’s no grey area here, it’s black or white. You either performed your role in line with our values or you didn’t. After everyone has rated their own performance in terms of ‘yes’ or ‘no’ the group the group nominated one player who lived our values and anointed them as that week’s Saints Man. This isn’t necessarily the best player form the weekend, in fact it usually isn’t. It’s the player who lived our values the best. Against Sydney, that player was Blake Acres who produced one of the best performances of his career to date.
Once the meeting was done we got strapped and prepared for training. Tuesday’s training usually lasts for about 90 minutes and we focus on some of the areas for improvement from the Sydney performance. It’s good to keep ticking the legs over and get that last bit of soreness and heaviness out from the weekend’s game. I’ll always try and get a fair bit of goal kicking before or after this session just to keep honing that skill.
As soon as we get off the track we have a full body stretch in the gym, before getting into the ice pool to tick recovery off before lunch. We eat lunch at the club on Tuesdays, so I grabbed a chicken, salad wrap and went into a diversity and inclusion oration. The speaker was Jamie Pi, a Chinese immigrant who has been involved in football for more than 20 years since landing in Dandenong as a teenager. He’s around the club one day a week as part of the AFL’s coaching diversity program. Jamie is a very funny man; it was an entertaining 45 minutes over lunch, as he outlined all the peculiar doors football has opened for him at grassroots level.
7pm – Gingerboy
Some of the boys had a photo shoot in the afternoon for the club as part of our 2017 marketing and membership campaign. Safe to say, ‘Skunk’ has no future as a model even if he thinks he does. Nor does ‘Armo’ for that matter. After a couple of hours of carrying on in front of the camera we all went to Gingerboy for dinner, which is the restaurant of long-time club supporter Teague Ezard. It’s one of those hawker style modern Asian places. Food was phenomenal. Great night in there.
Wednesday 17 August
8am – Trade Institute of Victoria, Williamstown
Along with about 12 of the boys from the club, I’ve started a carpentry apprenticeship on our day off on Wednesdays. I pick up ‘Hick’ on the way down to Williamstown and we munch on some bacon and egg rolls that Sammie’s made us. Today is week three of the two-year course and we’re still covering all the theory side of things. It’s good to do something completely unrelated to footy to break up the week, although I’m not sure some of the boys can handle the classroom situation. Not naming names.
2pm – Toorak
On the way back from school I stop in to see my chiropractor Azim at his rooms in Toorak. I always see him on my day off to get a little bit of work done. A few of the boys see him from the club, including the skipper who sees him up to five times a week sometimes. He can work miracles with his hands and through manipulation. I only spend about 20 minutes with him on a Wednesday and then a little bit of time on game day. From there I’m heading home to put the feet up and play NBA 2K16. Hughie Goddard stays over at our place on a Wednesday night because he does his construction course in Braeside. So he’s over beforehand by 4pm for some PlayStation before coming back once he’s done. He’s best mates with my brother, Lachie, so we’ve become close since he’s been at the Saints. Sammie and I love having him over on a Wednesday.
Thursday 18 August
8.15am – Linen House Centre, Seaford
I met Jade Gresham first thing this morning for some indoor touch work before training. We’ve spent a bit of time together this year, catching up for dinner and working closely together. I remember what it’s like to be in your first year. It can be a bit daunting and hard to build confidence so I try and make an effort with all of the young boys like ‘Gresh’. After that I catch up with ‘Sammy’ and chat about some potential match-ups this weekend. Nick Vlastuin, Taylor Hunt and Oleg Markov are the likely match-ups. By 9.30 we’re sitting in the theatrette for the opposition analysis meeting. These meetings last 30 minutes and focus on opportunities, threats and how the opposition structures up. Richmond has a dangerous backline, particularly with Alex Rance marshalling down there.
After that we get prepared for the main training session for the week where we want to put in place our plan for the weekend. I like to get out there early and work on my goal kicking before training, and then I finish off with goal kicking after the session. I typically have up to 200 shots on goal at training per week, trying to fine tune my routine from a range of distances and angles. As my role has evolved it’s obviously become more and more important for me to be make the most of my opportunities.
Straight after lunch we shoot some hoops on the basketball court at the club. I play ‘around the world’ against Blake Acres and Jack Sinclair. For the record, ‘Sincs’ may have won. After that we head into our line meetings to go through our roles for the weekend in greater detail. These last around 30 minutes. The second half of Thursday is spent in the gym where the focus is on whole body exercises, so a lot squats, lunges etc.
During the afternoon, ‘Richo’ gets around to every single player on the list and tells them what team they’re playing in and what their focus areas are for the upcoming game. I think communication is one of his biggest strengths. You always know where you stand with ‘Richo’ and always know what he expects from you that weekend. After I tick off my weights I make a smoothie in the players’ lounge for Brucey and I. Banana, chia seeds, vanilla protein, honey and peanut butter.
While the rest of the forwards are finishing off their weights I look at some vision from Steven Motlop’s game against the Tigers last weekend. He looked really dangerous and could have had a big day had he kicked straighter than 1.4. I like to look at how other forwards went about their business and found opportunities against the same opposition a week earlier. My last part of my week in at Seaford is seeing masseuse Anthony for another 45 minutes on the massage table. We have our captain’s run at Moorabbin tomorrow so you’ve got to pack your stuff for the weekend now. With wet weather forecast on Saturday this means packing screw-ins as well as everything else.
8pm – Home, Beaumaris
Sammie and I spend some time looking at Fiji online. We’re heading over to the States in October, doing mainly the west coast. But between then and after the Trevor Barker, we’re planning on getting away to Fiji for a bit of sun and relaxation. It’s always good to get overseas at the end of the year and escape Melbourne and footy for a while until pre-season starts again in November. There’s only a small window in the year to get away so you’ve got to make the most of it.
Earlier in the night, right before dinner, I did some meditation which I’ve been doing now for the last three years in the lead up to games. It’s become part of my routine each week and something I feel helps prepare me for the weekend’s game by visualising what’s coming up. It usually involves picturing my role in the team and how that plays out and how we will win and what that will look like. It takes 20 minutes each time and I do it in a quiet room in the house with some candles burning. I’ll do it the two nights leading into a game and in one of the spare coaches rooms before a game. It’ become a really important part of my preparation.
Friday 19 August
9.15am – Moorabbin
The day before every game we do our captains run at Moorabbin. I like to get in a bit earlier and look at some more edits on Sammy’s laptop of potential opponents for the next day. I’m one of those players who likes to have as much information as possible before a game so I feel as prepared as I possibly can. Part of the Friday routine is booking all your massage and physio appointments in for the next week so I do that before I head out. After a few nice days and a taste of what’s to come in Spring, Melbourne really hasn’t turned it on today. It’s absolutely freezing at Moorabbin. The captain’s run is really individual based, so whatever you feel you need to do you do. For some people that’s almost nothing at all, others prefer a bit of a blow and plenty of footy in their hands. It’s always pretty light and I like to get a lot of touch in to feel sharp ahead of a game. I always finish off with a bit of goal kicking before heading back inside for some recovery. By the time we get back into the rooms the Olympic 200m final is about to start so we are all hunched around a mobile phone watching Usain Bolt waltz to another gold medal. What a freak. I then head in for a massage before leaving for lunch.
12.30pm – Diplomat, Highett
Lunch is with a couple of Jack’s – Lonie and Billings – Paddy and Robbo. We head down to Diplomat in Highett for a cappuccino and some fritters. A good crew with some good banter on a Friday. Then I go and meet the old man who used to be a logger back in his day. I need to get a chainsaw for the farm so he’s the right man to help me find the right one. Before long I’ve picked out the one I want and got all the right safety gear I need to get the job done. Now it’s time to head home and jump in the pool, which seems to have dropped a couple of degrees with today’s freezing conditions.
6pm – Home, Beaumaris
I squeeze in another meditation session before dinner. Sammie has made a beautiful ravioli for dinner. She’s been in good form in the kitchen lately, and this is definitely one of her best. I watch the first half of Friday night footy while drinking Hydralyte water before turning in for bed. By that time I’m ready for a good night’s sleep ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Richmond.
Saturday 20 August
8am – Home, Beaumaris
When we play day games I like to get up early and get moving. Unlike some players I need to have a big meal and get plenty of calories in before the game. Today’s breakfast is a few eggs, avocado on toast, a coffee and a big smoothie with bananas, strawberries, honey, oats and milk. I’ve found that I need plenty of fuel in the tank otherwise I end up cramping in the second half, regardless of what sort of condition I’m in. After breakfast I like to take the dog for a walk. Not too far but just to get the legs ticking over. He’s been really stubborn of late, turning around to go home after one block. I reckon winter has got the better of him, he’s definitely turned a bit soft. From there I check to make sure I’ve got everything I need before leaving for the ground. It’s awesome to be driving into the MCG for a change. Not that I don’t love playing at Etihad, but we’ve only had the opportunity to play twice at the ‘G this season so it’s bloody great. Let’s do this. Go Saints.
@Maverickweller 's pup Ope is full of tricks pic.twitter.com/vEYXV9WUoR
— St Kilda FC (@stkildafc) August 16, 2016
