OBVIOUSLY  last season was a very disappointing year, so as soon as round 22 finished, I made a mental note to move on straight away, which I did.

What helped enormously was heading overseas with some of my teammates. I went away with Daniel Bell, Lynden Dunn, James Frawley, Tom McNamara, John Meesen, Michael Newton, Ricky Petterd, Matt Warnock and Jace Bode, who used to play for us.

We hired a couple of Mustangs and drove down the west coast of the United States, along the way to Los Angeles. That was an amazing experience. We found the people to be really friendly and being Australian helped as no one really knew anything about our country, so they found our accents and us quite fascinating. It was great bonding with the guys – we got to know each other really well.

We then flew from LA to Las Vegas, where our main end-of-season trip was held, and caught up with our other teammates,. We were in Vegas for five nights and had a lot of fun and lost a bit too much money at the casinos.

After five days, the others guys went home, but Lynden Dunn, Matt Warnock and I went to Boston. We stayed there a few nights and watched the Red Sox play. They played Tampa Bay and had to win to secure a place in the playoffs. That was really exciting, watching another professional sport.

From there, we went to New York, which was really amazing. We went to the Statue of Liberty, visited Ground Zero and just generally took it pretty easy.

After visiting the US, I returned fresh and ready to get stuck into pre-season training last October 13. I was really pumped to be back!

My main aim for the pre-season was to remain injury-free. Previously, I'd had some hamstring and soft-tissue injuries, which had set me back in the pre-season. Although they were only minor, they were enough to upset the consistency in my training.

Strengthening my legs was a big focus for me. Valeri Stoimenov, our new weights coach, instantly saw big deficiencies in my technique when I was squatting and hang-cleaning.

He said: 'Right, we're stripping away all of the weights you're lifting and getting your technique right'. So he spent a good two or three weeks getting my technique spot on.

From there, I was able to lift the heaviest weights I've ever lifted. I felt stronger and gained more confidence in my body, particularly my hamstrings and groins. I've since been able to take that onto the training track.

This pre-season we had more fit blokes on the track than we've had in recent years and training out at Casey has been really good.

Pre-Christmas, everyone was spot-on. We therefore received a longer Christmas break.

I was able to head to Perth with my girlfriend and stay with her family, which was nice and relaxing.

We were all given a Christmas training program, which everyone completed, unlike the previous year. That in itself was a big step for us. As a result, everyone stepped right back into training.

In our first NAB Cup match, I felt we played really well, despite falling short against Hawthorn. We were excited with the footy we played against the reigning premiers.

We also played well in the rest of the matches – particularly against the Brisbane Lions – but we fell short against the Sydney Swans and Western Bulldogs.

But this week is a big one for our boys.

Everyone is very excited about starting the season really well and playing competitive football, and that’s why getting our preparation right for the match against North Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday is essential.

You want to do everything right – whether it's an extra massage, hydration, or recovery session – but you don't want to constantly think about it at every moment before the match.

That's why I started playing guitar. I’ve found it to be a great hobby and as a result my sister Melanie and I have started weekly gigs at a restaurant/bar called Balsamic Bar, at Eastland Shopping Centre in Ringwood (Melbourne's eastern suburbs).
 
We're playing most Thursdays at 6pm, but we're playing this Friday at 6.30pm.

Having that outlet allows me to take my mind off footy. I just sit there and play guitar and my sister sings. I chime in with some singing as well. It's just a good way to relax.

Still, when it comes to Sunday, our focus will be playing four quarters. If we do that we'll win. We know if we play the type of footy we're capable of, we'll take it up to any opposition.

We've also got a lot of fit players to choose from, which is exciting. It creates pressure for spots – and everyone is feeling it, which is good because it makes everyone work harder. It also gives the coaches a hard time at the selection table, which is always a good sign.

As a young exciting side our aim is to be super-competitive every time we play and it starts this Sunday!