Anytime you hear Brad Scott speak of Aaron Edwards, you hear nothing but pure admiration.

Since coming to North Melbourne, Scott has seen and helped Edwards turn his football career around.

“I think the change of coach and Brad coming in and demanding more from the group is what really helped me,” Edwards told kangaroos.com.au.

Edwards is a massive supporter of the Utah camp and what it provides the players after coming off a career-best season in 2011.

“Last year was my best pre-season and this year I’m working to try and better that and I think so far, I’m going alright. When we get to the longer distance running at a lower altitude this week, I’ll ready get a sense of where I’m at. Hopefully I can keep it going.

“Having this three week block in Utah…I use it as a real chance to get that fitness base that I don’t think I’ve ever had before. It’s the second year in a row that I’ve been given the opportunity to come here and I don’t just try and get through…I come here and try and legitimately do really well in all the things we do.”

It’s not just talk. Edwards has blitzed through most running sessions and the intensity on his face is there for all to see.

“Credit to the fitness staff as well as Brad to organise a solid program over here that gets all of us in the best nick we’ll probably ever be in,” he commented.

While Edwards has been leading the way with his actions, other, much younger players have stepped up too and the forward says it’s pleasing to see.

“We’ve got such a young list and we’ve got a lot of good young emerging leaders around. Jack Ziebell is putting his best foot forward but we’ve pretty much made it so anyone can say what they want regardless of age or experience. Nobody is going to say ‘you’re too young’, and I think it’s a good thing to have within the group.”

On Monday, Edwards again put in a spirited effort during a series of testing hill sprints.

“There was a 30 metre, 60 and 90 metre stage last year and this time they added a 120 metre sprint,” he explained.

“We had three sprints at 120 metres, four at 90, six at 60 and eight at 30. The 30 metre one was steep as, so it was hard getting traction to get up there but they were all very hard in their own right…it was a solid slog.”

Another new feature on this year’s camp has been the grouping of players for all sessions. The coaches have elected to put the players in their relative line groups in order to build better synergy and sense of team.

“It’s definitely helped. You’ve got the guys who are really good runners in our forwards group and the guys who are building up to be good runners. As a team and as a forward line, we’ve been working together and getting through everything together. It helps because no-one wants to let anyone else down.”


Getting ready for another big day
Aaron Mullett pushing hard
Liam Anthony works through the pain barrier
A tiny squirrel-like creature watches on
A squirrel's-eye view
Leigh Adams makes his way up one of the challenging hills
Hands on heads after another grueling session....
.. .. but there's not long to rest - the players get straight back into it.
Luke Delaney leads his team-mates out
That squirrel thing again
Edwards targets leader Ben McKinley
Scott Thompson works the arms

North Melbourne staff and players will be tweeting from Utah. Search the hashtag #utahroos or visit twitter.com/northkangaroos for updates.

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