The Demons headed to the gateway of the Great Ocean Road after lunch on Wednesday and returned mid-afternoon on Thursday.
It wasn’t a celebration on the back of its opening win of the season over Essendon at the MCG.
Instead, it was a pre-arranged camp to mix up the routine, given there was an extended break between last Saturday night’s clash and the upcoming Queen’s Birthday blockbuster on Monday at the ‘G, according to football manager Josh Mahoney.
“We identified early in the year that there would be a longer break from Saturday night’s game through to the Queen’s Birthday weekend, so we saw it as a good opportunity to get the players away for 24 hours,” he said.
“Bearing in mind, next week, we wanted to give the players some time away from the club.
“The theme of the camp was around team bonding, spending more time together and competitiveness. We wanted to review the season to date, and highlight areas to work on for the second part of the season.”
The activities of the camp included a football review and presentation from coach Mark Neeld, fitness drills and skills on the beach, surfing, bike riding, ten pin bowling and table tennis.
Backline coach Jade Rawlings said the team got exactly what it wanted out of the camp.
“This was something that was planned irrespective of the result against Essendon. It was a good opportunity to spend time with the players and see them integrate once again and relax a little bit,” he said.
“We saw this as a real positive to change the weekly routine, because it can become a bit of a treadmill from week to week.
“It’s great down at Torquay and we’ve got everything that we wanted to get out of it.”
Rawlings said it was “vitally important” to give the players a mental release during the season.
“That’s why this week was more relevant than next week,” he said.
“The timing worked out really well [with the win], but we’ve got a group which is naturally enthusiastic - that’s one thing that’s stood out to us.
“The win adds to it, but the other opportunity is that it gives us the chance to realign the attitude that got us there.”
First year Demon James Magner, who has played every match so far this season, relished getting away and freshening up after a tough year to date.
“It’s something different, so it helps you mentally more than anything, because you’re at the club day in, day out. It’s 24/7 for some people, because you’re constantly thinking about it,” he said.
“We stayed at some lovely accommodation in Torquay and went through our review down here in different scenery. We had it at the Quiksilver headquarters, and had a look at Collingwood.
“The boys got into the ten pin bowling and we had a poker night, which Russian (Mark Jamar) won, and some of the boys watched a surfing movie. So it was good to relax and enjoy each other’s company.”
Magner said Neeld’s talk on where the game is heading and what the club means was a fascinating presentation.
“It was very interesting. He spoke about where he thinks the game’s going and a little bit of history about Melbourne, so it was good to take that on board,” he said.
“They’ve got all the knowledge and we’ve got to take on as much as we can. After our win [last round], it was good to hear what Neeldy had to say.
“But we’ve only had one win out of 10, so we want to get a few on the board. You get excited and celebrate a bit with your family and friends, but then you’ve got to quickly look to next week.”
That match is Melbourne’s biggest home and away fixture for the season and it’s something that’s not lost on Rawlings, who is itching to be involved in his first QB clash.
“I’ve always been envious of clubs that have had a fixture in the calendar which is theirs,” he said.
“[When I was] at Richmond, it was the Dreamtime at the ‘G game and at Brisbane it was the Easter Thursday game, so this Queen’s Birthday Monday, I’m really excited about the opportunity of being a part of it.
“With this Melbourne group - we’re really establishing a culture that we want to continue to develop. Hopefully this Queen’s Birthday there can be a big crowd there with some real optimism about how our boys will perform again.”
The camp itinerary was:
Wednesday
2.30-4 pm: Ten pin bowling (won by Jake Spencer)
4.30 pm: Arrive at Torquay Sands
4.30-5:30 pm: Resort activities (golf putting, pool or relaxing)
6.00 pm: Dinner at Quiksilver headquarters
7.00 pm: Mark Neeld presentation (Where football is going?)
8.00 pm: Evening activities (snowboarding movie, poker or table tennis)
10 pm: Bed
Thursday
7.30 am: Breakfast
9 am: Beach circuit (including push-ups, sit-ups, ball and running activities), bike riding
12 pm: Lunch, followed by return to Melbourne
