Day 1: Monday, January 29

7.30am: Ready for take off

Craig Jennings is an intriguing footy character.

Brilliant to chat to about the game, he’s also noted for his meticulous planning.  

So much so, that the assistant coach, in preparation for the club’s eight-day pre-season camp to the Sunshine Coast, stayed at Melbourne Airport, the night before – and for two main reasons.

The first was so he could avoid traffic (something he loathes, but then again, who doesn’t?) and the other was so he could watch the great Roger Federer secure his 20th Grand Slam. He wanted to watch it, regardless of how late his Australian Open final against Maran Čilić finished, so a hotel room at the airport was his best solution.

But Jennings isn’t the only one with a different way of arriving at the airport for this year’s camp.

Versatile big man, Cam Pedersen, arrives at Melbourne Airport around 6am, after flying in from Singapore. He’s back in the country after attending a family wedding in Thailand.

And like the rest of his teammates, he’s back on deck after having Thursday to Sunday off.

Soon, a host of players, coaches and officials start checking in.

Greeting them is manager of football operations Daniel McPherson, who hands out the new polos/t-shirts with Melbourne’s new major co-principal partner ‘Zurich’ displayed on the attire.

Some aren’t shy in whipping their casual tops off to don the new polos, in a busy, bustling Melbourne Airport. Not even Dave Misson, who lives up to his title of elite performance manager! The fitness guru is looking ready to go for another season.

The team congregates in the Virgin Lounge.

Simon Goodwin, Brendan McCartney and Jennings are sitting next to the window, chatting in preparation for the camp, as a host of red and blue is splatted around the lounge.

Soon, boarding takes place and the group is on its way.

11am: Queensland arrival

The team arrives for its fourth annual pre-season camp on the Sunshine Coast.

It’s a camp that’s provided plenty of benefits since it started under former coach Paul Roos in 2015.

Jordan Lewis speaks to the waiting local media about the upcoming camp, before the crew departs in mini buses to its accommodation at Sebel Twin Waters.

“It’s probably about mentally getting away and getting to a spot on the coast where players can relax and enjoy their down time as well as train hard,” the four-time premiership player says.

“For us, it's good to get away and have high-quality sessions.”

Lunch is ready and waiting, before the players start their activities for the afternoon.

Goodwin addresses the entire group and highlights a few key areas to take away from the camp: relationship building and game plans, among the priorities.   

1:30pm: Training starts

Not surprisingly, it’s hot and humid in this part of the land. Different to the scorcher Melbourne experienced the day before, but nevertheless, it’s testing conditions.

The players are split into three groups and rotate between the following: running and off legs (boxing), screening and craft/touch and leg weights. Each session lasts for roughly 45 minutes.

Alex Neal-Bullen says it’s an important afternoon in preparation for Tuesday’s first of three main training sessions.  

“It’s good to be back up here, getting the body moving again. We had a few days’ off, just before the camp and we’re just getting into it today,” he says.

“We did a bit of a flush run, getting the body moving and we had a bit of a box, just to sweat it out, which has been good.

“On Tuesday, we have our main session, so that’ll be a bit of a slog out. Then we go again on Friday and Monday, so they’re our three main sessions for the week and all of the boys are looking forward to testing themselves in the heat.”

For Neal-Bullen, his fourth AFL pre-season means that he has also been on each of the Sunshine Coast camps, which he says has played a big part leading into the season proper.

“This is a huge stepping stone to round one, once you get over this hurdle,” he says.

“You take a lot out of this training camp, as you can see round one is in the near future. You’ve got that in the back of the mind – just to keep pushing yourself.

“Everything else you do is to finetune what’s coming up in the next few weeks.”

Neal-Bullen has been one of the impressive performers this pre-season, but he’s also been taken by several of his teammates this summer, including one new Demon.  

“It’s been a really good pre-season. It’s gone quick, so that means it’s going well,” he says.

“Everyone is really tracking well and a few standouts for myself have been Harley Balic, who has had a great first impact at the footy club and I think he’s one to watch this year.

“We’ve been really focusing on what we need to get better at, as a group, and I think we’ve taken a lot of learning of out what we’ve done so far.”

Assistant coach Troy Chaplin, now heading up the backline, after being offensive coordinator in his first season of coaching in 2017, says it was important for the players to get their legs moving soon after arriving.

“They’ve had a few days off now, with their last session being last Wednesday. They’re on the plane for a couple of hours – so it’s about getting them moving because there is a big session on Tuesday,” he says.

“You can’t really get straight into it – you have to do some form of physical activity and the boys did some boxing and weights as well, so it ticked off those areas in preparing them for tomorrow.

“They’ll hydrate tonight and get some fuel into them and they’ll be right to go tomorrow.”

Chaplin says camps held in late January/early February – just before pre-season matches – are always timely.

“It’s always good to get away from Melbourne for a little bit, because it can get a bit monotonous at this time of year,” he says.

“It’s just good to get away and build some strong relationships with the players and staff – it’s not too often you get to spend some real quality time away with the group.

“We learned a lot from last year’s camp and we’re looking forward to the same again this year.”

Since transitioning down back – a position he made his name as a player with Port Adelaide and Richmond – Chaplin says the improvement of Oscar McDonald and the recruitment of Jake Lever have been highlights.

“I think Oscar McDonald has had a really strong pre-season. He’s come back and looked like he’s put on a bit of size,” he says.

“He’s put on a bit more muscle and the acquisition of Jake Lever has certainly helped. He’s a competitive unit and trains extremely hard.

“This whole pre-season, there hasn’t been one standout – we’ve been pleased with all of them and how they’ve been going. It’s just that continuity that we’ve got to get with that younger group, so that’s what we’re aiming for.”

4pm: Downtime and dinner

The focus now is all about preparing for Tuesday.

A buffet dinner is held back at the hotel, with pasta, noodles, meat, salads and vegetables on the menu. It’ll be one of the few group meals of the trip, with most dinners to be prepared by the players and staff in their respective apartments.  

In total, there are 22 rooms and most have four people in each apartment.

For the rest of the evening, several players have physio and massage, as they build-up to what will be a big week of training.

Based on previous years, some of the sessions have been among the biggest of the pre-season and this is likely to be the case again.