Day 3: Wednesday, January 31
8am: Back to school
The first question of the morning is: how have Jack Viney and Tom McDonald pulled up from last night’s dinner?
And the news is good, after the pair ate meals prepared by youngsters Sam Weideman, Harley Balic, Mitch King and Oskar Baker the previous night.
Viney says it all went to plan.
“I thought the boys did a terrific job, considering most of them were fairly new to cooking, they set a high standard for the other groups. I thought the salads were excellent as well,” he says.
McDonald, who initially wasn’t sure if Oskar Baker knew one end of the toaster from the other, was genuinely shocked with the youngster’s efforts.
“Oskar ‘Sauce’ Baker surprised me with his salad – it was presented very well and tasted great,” he says.
“It was the perfect amount of chilli in the beef burgers from Harley [Balic].
“As a group, they actually surprised me in their ability to cook, as some of them haven’t done much cooking ever before.”
This morning’s activities start at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Sippy Downs.
Upon arrival, the players make their way to the basketball court to shoot some hoops before the rest of the session gets under way.
Not surprisingly, Corey Maynard, who played in the NBL with Cairns Taipans and Townsville Crocodiles, is a shining light on the court, along with Christian Petracca, who was a young-gun and played with NBA star Ben Simmons.
Tom McDonald is another who knows his way around the court, having represented Victoria at under-16 level. He almost headed to Phoenix, Arizona, before footy became his priority.
Oh, and Max Rooke’s shot from the three-point line, without looking, is also a highlight.
The squad gathers for a basketball competition, before the recovery and craft session gets under way.
Assistant coach Troy Chaplin oversees proceedings.
Firstly, the players’ line-up in single file.
From there, they must kick the footy from half court, with the aim to hit the backboard of the basketball ring.
Once a player hits the backboard, they’re ‘safe’ and they move to the side.
But if a player doesn’t hit the backboard, they must wait their turn, before having another attempt. The process continues until there is just one person remaining. That last person is the ‘lucky loser’, who then must complete a task.
With a couple of rounds to go, it comes down to a battle between two of the club’s youngest players: Lochie Filipovic and Harry Petty.
With the Grand Final underway, the entire squad lines up either side of Filipovic and Petty, cheering them on, as they attempt to hit the backboard first.
Petty has the first shot … but misses. It keeps Filipovic in the contest.
‘Flipper’ then takes his kick … and hits the backboard! And the players erupt with excitement.
For poor ‘ol Petty, it means he’s the last man standing and he ‘wins’ the prize.
Which is? A photo of himself on Instagram, with no top on. Oh, and it has to be up for at least 24 hours.
(And if you check out @harry.petty9, you’ll find the young fella coming out of the Sunshine Coast University swimming pool with the comment: “Career best #maroochysun”.)
Petty takes it in his stride.
Reflecting on the moment, Filipovic says he was “shaking”.
“My heart rate was up around 180,” he says with a laugh.
“I said to Harry ‘stiff luck, mate’.”
From there, the players undertake recovery and craft session.
Oscar McDonald says it was an important morning after a big afternoon the day before.
“After our main session yesterday, we jumped in the pool for a bit,” he says.
“We did a little bit of touch with the footy, so it was good fun and there were a couple of little penalties for a few boys, who didn’t win their competition.
“It was pretty relaxed, but it was good to get the legs going.”
1:30pm: Rotations
After lunch, the players split into three groups for leg weights, education and physio/massage.
Each session last roughly an hour.
Michael Hibberd says it’s a testing weights session in the heat.
“We did a lot of leg weights this afternoon in the outdoor gym,” he says.
“A few of the guys opted to do it with their shirts off – they should probably keep them on I reckon.
“But it was good to punch out the session in the hot conditions.”
Rehabilitation coordinator, and former Bulldog and Melbourne player, Daniel Cross, says each group makes the most of their session.
“It’s was quite a solid afternoon, but the boys got stuck right in and lifted well,” he says.
“It was the main legs session for the week, with the boys having a day off their legs tomorrow, before they train on Friday.”
6pm: Apprentice chefs at it again
It’s cooking time for a few more youngsters, with club dietician Loren Chambers helping again.
Tonight, Dion Johnstone, Charlie Spargo, Joel Smith and Bayley Fritsch are the chefs.
They’re preparing meals for senior players Bernie Vince and Jordan Lewis and fitness gurus Dave Misson and Alex Sakadjian.
Vince praises the quartet for a simple, but effective meal, which consists of salmon burgers and salad.
“I feel they did the simple things really well, which when you’re relatively inexperienced in the kitchen is a smart decision,” he says.
“Any meal is nice though when you don’t have to prepare it, cook it and do the dishes.”
Misson says the meals were spot on.
“They were organised with military precision by Loren Chambers,” he said.
“The presentation was excellent. The salmon burger from Joel Smith and coleslaw by Dion Johnstone were the highlights of the dinner.”
Johnstone says it’s a different, but enjoyable experience.
“I’ve just moved out of my host family’s home, so I’ve got the responsibility of learning how to cook now and Vanders (Aaron vandenBerg) is teaching me, as I’m living with him,” he says.
“It’s was a great experience. We dished it up all right. It was good to learn new things and something we’ll use down the track.”
Oh, and any potential viewing of the ‘super blue blood moon’ for the crew goes begging later in the evening, with a downpour of heavy rain and clouds spoiling the moment.
With king tides hitting the Sunshine Coast, the weather takes a turn, with up to 115mm recorded in the area.
