After a 33-point win over Brisbane on Saturday night, the Demons earned themselves a spot in the Preliminary Final and a week-long break. 

With this week off, players were able to enjoy a combination of different activities, which GM - Football Performance Alan Richardson explained was the club’s approach to keeping the schedule balanced.

“We wanted to try and alleviate any of the uncertainty or anxiety of who we’re playing,” Richardson said.

“Our normal review we’ve put off until we know who we’re playing, so that we can tie in our review with what that will mean against our upcoming opposition, whether that’s Geelong or GWS.

“We also decided, while still having footy sessions and gym sessions to keep the boys in good physical shape, that we wouldn’t narrow our focus to the extent we would normally.”

During the first half of the week, the players were able to visit West Perth Football Club as part of their quarantine period, where they got the opportunity to use the gym and oval facilities.

“Our players were looking for opportunities to get out of the accommodation because we’re confined to the Joondalup hotel space,” Richardson said.

“Getting out to a footy oval and hitting some golf balls or playing a bit of soccer, those sorts of activities were so the players could enjoy each other’s company and give them a break from thinking about footy too much.

Richardson emphasised that while it was good for the players to have that opportunity to switch off earlier in the week, the focus on Friday would shift to the Preliminary Final.

“We’ll really start to ramp things up today, it’ll be a really strong performance training session, which will almost be in place of a game,” Richardson said.

“Whenever we train, we make sure to enjoy the work, but if it’s absolutely a performance-based session, then we roll our sleeves up and get cracking, which is what we’ll do today.”