It’s been a few months since my last blog, but it’s great to be writing again from my hotel room in Deer Valley, Utah.
I missed the camp last year with my achilles injury, so I’m rapt to be back with the young boys to try and get a head-start on pre-season training.
Before the camp, I spent a week checking out the sights and sounds of Texas, but after a couple of months of no footy I’m pumped to get back into it.
With a younger bunch of boys this time around, it’s a great learning experience and really gives the guys an understanding of what it takes to be an elite athlete.
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So far I’ve been really impressed with the guys’ efforts, but no camp would be complete without some funny moments.
I’m rooming with Fishy Mullett, Benny Jacobs and Brad McKenzie. Lukey McDonald was in our room to start, but after leaving his bag on the bus on the way in we decided he was going to drag us down and kicked him out.
The boys have been in pretty good spirits so far, but I can’t help but mention some of Baz’s (Brad McKenzie) antics.
It can be tough to sleep at altitude for first few days and Baz thought he’d found the perfect way to block out any distractions. After the housekeepers finished their turndown service, Baz was quick to get his hands on the one set of ‘earplugs’ they’d left.
Initially we thought he was joking, but we had to stop him before things got messy. Those earplugs were actually chocolates.
It turns out chocolate earplugs might have been handy for Brad. Asked how he slept, he told the boys ‘yep really good, I was just up between 2.30 and 5am’. Sounds like an amazing sleep!
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Speaking of sleep, or lack of, big ‘Diggity’ Ben Brown’s absence from the camp has provided some relief for the boys. Last year he was a serial snorer, but post-season surgery stopped him coming over this time around.
That hasn’t stopped Browny keeping himself amused. This video says it all.
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On any training camp, there’s plenty of downtime, and the boys have been playing a game of chance with some pretty embarrassing penalties.
Lukey McDonald seems to be particularly unlucky. After losing a game, his penalty was to undertake Neckvember (when you shave your face, but grow your neck hair). He thinks he's going to get out of it, claiming he suffers razor burn. We’ll be holding him to it though.
These boots weren’t part of a bet.
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Anyone would think Shaun Atley had lost a bet too, with his current look.... well, he has now.
Ats was in a competition with the club’s media manager Heath O’Loughlin to see who could grow their beard the longest by January 1.
Seems like his girlfriend might have got in his ear and told him to clean it up. With his anniversary coming up he is all loved up and a framed photo of the lovely Karina has been seen sitting beside his bed in the hotel. He’s a closet romantic young Ats is.
I can reveal he has trimmed the beard, and will now be required to buy $150 of memberships for The Huddle after pulling out of the competition early.
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It might be a bit tougher for him to pay the fine after he forked out $60 for a haircut at a local hairdresser.
I’m glad Ats got a cut though. He was starting to get to the stage he might have needed to borrow one of Benny Jacobs’ bandanas.
Ben doesn’t mind setting a trend. He’s the only one at the club with the 0-fade cut, and has taken it to a new level with his colourful bandanas to ‘keep the hair out of his eyes’. Ever heard of a hat?
But back to Baz. With kitchens in our rooms, the players take on the cooking duties. I’m a bit of an iron chef, but everyone does their part.
One night, Baz told us he wasn’t a fan of rice so didn’t want too much. 10 minutes later, he was soaking the remaining rice on his plate with soy sauce, before wiping his finger across the plate and cleaning up every remaining grain. It's pretty gross.
Hopefully he didn’t get any on his moustache. Brad tells us it's not very moisture friendly. In fact, he predicts it takes 10 minutes to dry every time he gets out of the shower. He has since revised that figure to five minutes after giving it a trim.
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Everyone says it’s hard to get a good coffee in the US. Baz agrees. He bought a latte the other day, only to claim it had no milk. He was a little lost for words when I asked where the froth on his moustache came from.
Baz would want to get his coffee hit, because things are getting tougher and tougher on the camp.
We had a pretty light start to ease the boys in, but now it's got going. On Friday we went on a three-hour hike which felt like it was a constant incline.
The young guys have conducted themselves really well over the first five days of the camp.
It’s a challenging environment, both for the conditions and being away from home, but none of the guys have complained and are all trying to take advantage of the extra two weeks’ training.
It’s also been great to have Ziebs (Jack Ziebell) and Wellsy (Daniel Wells) here as fellow leaders, just to keep the boys on their toes and set the standard.
If the boys need any extra motivation, they only need to look at the efforts of Boomer Harvey. To play for your country at the age of 62 is amazing.
With one week to go, the toughest training is still to come, but the boys will return ready for a full assault on training before Christmas.
[RELATED: Day five and six photos]
