Day 3 - Saturday, December 8

7:30 am

THE MESS Hall didn’t open for breakfast until 8 am, so a weekend ‘sleep in’ was enjoyed by all. Still, it didn’t feel like a Saturday. In fact, it was hard to know what day it was, despite the tightly-run schedule!

The early morning talk, though, is about how the coach’s knee is feeling.

Yep, that’s right, the coach!

Mark Neeld is sporting - to quote Monty Python - a ‘flesh wound’. His knee is covered up by a gauze bandage and it appears to be more than just a cut. The full story is yet to be revealed, but naturally theories are flying around thick and fast!

Could it have been an incident with a rogue taipan from the nearby savanna? A wandering dingo into the Barracks? Or, dare we say it, a nip from a croc?

Regardless, the coach continues to lead by example and simply carries on. We take him at his word that he’s fine.

Rohan Bail wanders past with a pile of dirty dishes. (For the record, everyone must return their plates, glasses and utensils to the sushi-train-like conveyor belt in the Mess Hall)

He tells me that he lost a ‘rock off’. I’m presuming that’s rocks, papers, scissors, which is the case!

Bail says it was between a group of eight players: Jack Grimes, Jeremy Howe, Jake Spencer, Chris Dawes, James Magner, Nathan Jones and Jordie McKenzie.

In the end, the ‘rock off’ Grand Final came down to Bail and Grimes. The co-captain takes the honours and Bail is forced to stack up the plates.

8:30 am

Strength and conditioning manager Rob Jackson takes the players for a wrestling/grappling session.

It’s held in the indoor basketball court. Mats are rolled out and the players are grouped into pairs.

Some of the wrestling duos included: David Rodan and Tom Couch, James Strauss and Daniel Nicholson, James Sellar and Col Garland, Shannon Byrnes and Sam Blease, and Troy Davis and Cam Pedersen.

New Demons Matt Jones, Dean Terlich, Dean Kent and Dom Barry are off to the side in a smaller set-up, working with backline coach Jade Rawlings, who helps them with their wrestling and bumping technique.

Jackson is clear on what he wants from the session, but also demonstrates the tasks effectively.

There are some strong genuine tussles among the players. And while they are all super competitive, it’s done in a controlled environment.

Neeld, director of football Neil Craig and football manager Josh Mahoney sit on the sidelines watching intently.

Craig is impressed with the drills and the output from the group.

“It’s a good session after breakfast, isn’t it? It gets the blood flowing and a bit of juice coming out, so these sessions have been really important for us in our pre-season,” he says.

“We call them combative sessions, but it’s a combination of some flexibility and wrestling. It puts guys in situations where they just have to challenge each other.

“So it’s nothing stupid, but it’s really good from a conditioning point of view as well. We’d like to think it’d be part of our normal pre-season.”

At 10 am, club video guru Jack McCowan leaves for a trip to Lajamanu, almost 900 km from Darwin, in the centre of Australia.

The club visits Lajamanu, as part of its new sponsorship agreement with Wild Geese, a building and construction company, based in Darwin. It’s headed up by Patrick Hewitt, the uncle of Nathan Jones.

McCowan leaves with players Colin Garland, Troy Davis, Tom Couch and Jack Fitzpatrick.

Strategic relationship manager Tom Parker, who is helping the club build its Northern Territory links, also attends. It becomes a massive day for Parker, who arrives in Darwin from Melbourne at 4.45 am. He then spends another five hours in the plane, traveling from Darwin to Lajamanu and back.

Originally, Aaron Davey was slated in for the trip, but given his prominence and family ties in the Top End, it was felt that he would be best suited to stay for the local clinic at TIO Stadium later in the day.

Therefore, Garland took up the opportunity and noted that if the shoe was on the other foot - and a Melbourne training camp was held in Tasmania - he would have hoped others would have done the same to help him catch-up with family and friends.

10:30 am

The players head over to the building, which houses the weapons training simulation system.

Each player takes a turn. There are roughly 15 to 20 players lying on their stomachs, overseen by army personnel. The simulators feature multimedia projectors and the group shoots several rounds of varying weapons.

Above the main target on the multimedia screen, it shows how close the shooter has come to hitting the target.

The coaches and staff also get involved, with Craig kneeling to take his shot.

Several players reach ‘infantry standard’, including Dawes, Howe and Kent, as does football technology manager ‘Pistol’ Pete Roberts. In fact, by the end of it, Dawes is regarded as one of the top shooters from the group - a notion Melbourne supporters will be hoping for in 2013, when he lines up in front of the big sticks.

New Demon and dual Geelong premiership player Shannon Byrnes confirms Dawes is a crack shot, even if “mine was a little bit off”.

“On the 20-round shot, I couldn’t quite hold it steady for a while, so I don’t think they’ll need me anytime soon. I’d need a bit more training - for sure,” he says with a laugh.

“But the soldiers were really good and it was a great experience. They gave great points and tips and my accuracy improved in the end.

“Dawesy even out did his solider, so I’m not sure of his secret hobbies.”

12:30 pm

Lunch, recovery, massage and treatments are the order of the house for the next two hours.

Again, there is another ‘rock off’ with a handful of players. This time, Joel Macdonald gains the mantle for dish stacking.

2:30 pm

It’s time to depart for TIO Stadium.

The players and staff soon arrive at the Territory’s AFL ground to watch the second half of the Wanderers and Southern Districts match.

Like Friday night’s clash, there are a handful of ex-AFL players running around for both teams. Shannon Motlop, who played in the Kangaroos’ 1999 premiership and later became a Demon, is one of the big names for the Wanderers. Ex-Tiger and Saint Dean Polo and former Lion and Bomber Damian Cupido are members of Southern Districts.

Aaron Davey is a big hit among the fans and media, as he returns to his hometown and catches up with family and friends. Another Demon, James Frawley, sits with uncle Tony Frawley, who is chief executive of AFLNT.

Another familiar face is in the crowd watching on is former Bomber Dean Rioli.

I sit next to Joel Macdonald to watch the match. I always enjoy his insights into the game and we talk about the Top End experience. He’s a very considered person and an important member of the group.

A close match results in a win to the Wanderers by eight points. Motlop snaps the sealer with minutes remaining.

The siren sounds and it’s time for Melbourne’s clinic and kick-to-kick session with the locals. For roughly 30 minutes, the kids have a ball mixing with the Demons. Photos are also taken and it’s a great, casual opportunity for the players and supporters to mix.

Byrnes says the enthusiasm is infectious.

“They just live and breathe it up here and you don’t have to get them ‘up’. They’d do it for another two or three hours if they could,” he says.

After the clinic, we catch the opening term of the Tiwi Bombers clash against St Mary’s. It’s great to see former Demon Aussie Wonaeamirri running around for Tiwi. He was a highly-popular figure at Melbourne, particularly among the fans.

At quarter-time, the Demons leave TIO Stadium and head back to Robertson Barracks for dinner.

5:30 pm

Football operations manager Craig Notman makes a quick detour to pick up the group, which traveled to Lajamanu.

The Melbourne representatives, including players Garland, Fitzpatrick, Couch and Davis, come back looking weary, given it’s a massive distance traveled in a twin prop. Garland remarks that the plane was smaller than several cars he’s driven!

Parker recounts the trip and tells of the flight being turbulent for roughly 40 minutes before they landed at Lajamanu. And when they did land, the temperature on the tarmac was 46 degrees.

From there, the crew visits the Wild Geese construction site, which will become a community facility when complete. Then, a community footy clinic is held, with about 50 youngsters in attendance.

AFLNT has a game development officer in this area, but visits from AFL clubs are as uncommon as green grass on the centre square of the Lajamanu red dirt footy oval!

Given the extreme heat, the clinic was conducted under an outdoor roofed basketball court. And to highlight the skills of the locals, a competition was held to see if anyone could kick a footy through the basketball hoops. A youngster about 14 years old booted one through with his first kick and won himself a signed Melbourne jumper. Giveaways were also handed out, before the flight back to Darwin.

But perhaps the best giveaway was when Garland took off his singlet and handed it to a teenage boy, who was delighted to receive it. Garland then donned a polo shirt for the flight home.

6:30 pm

The coaches have a meeting near the Mess Hall, but from roughly 6:30 pm, many relax for the night or attend to their respective work duties.

Sunday’s focus will be another training session, this time at Garden’s Oval.

And it will be intriguing to see how Melbourne trains this time around.