The Roos will spend three-weeks overseas and while the former Saint has endured many pre-season training camps during his time, this could be his toughest yet.
“Speaking to Nick he’s really looking forward to Utah. He’s been involved in some small overseas training camps before but this is a bit different and he’s really looking forward to doing the work,” senior assistant coach Darren Crocker told NMFC.com.au.
“It will be a great opportunity for him to get to know the boys.”
PRESS PLAY above to see Nick Dal Santo pull on the North Melbourne jumper | YouTube
Dal Santo won’t be the only fresh face with North’s new coaches and recently appointed Director of Football Geoff Walsh making the trip.
“With Leigh Tudor, Gavin Brown and Ben Dyer all starting as well, it’s the perfect chance to meet everyone. That’s the fantastic thing about the camp; to get everyone away from the club to bond with no distractions. It’s really valuable.”
Last year the likes of Taylor Garner, Daniel Currie, Taylor Hine, Mason Wood, Ben Jacobs and Mitch Wilkins joined the squad for the final week of the camp and the club will again fly in its new draftees.
“To come over, perhaps it’s intimidating and daunting initially but by the end of the camp, the new players are feeling much more comfortable being at an AFL club. The other boys really take them under their wing and make them feel welcome.”
This year will be the club’s fourth consecutive Utah trip and Crocker says the camp has evolved perfectly over the years.
“In the first year, the first half of the camp was heavily slanted toward conditioning and then the second half was more about football. The last couple of years have been a little more of a mix and more about skill development. Out of the three we’ve done, last year we had the right mix of conditioning and football content.
“Some of the objectives that came out of last season was the need to improve our skill level, kicking in particular, and game-sense…I think we achieved a lot of that. We always tweak things up so it doesn’t become stale but the actual structure of the camp won’t change too much.”
For the majority of the group, Utah will come on the back of several weeks holiday.
“Most of the guys adjust really well. The first two weeks they’re up and about, they look forward to it, getting back into training after an extended break.
“It’s generally the last week where some can hit a bit of a brick wall with their energy levels and a bit of homesickness…that’s when the coaches and the characters within the group have to try and manufacture the right environment to keep the group going.”
