Bomber fans can follow star forward Angus Monfries as he blogs about the experiences of playing for Australia against Ireland in the upcoming International Rules Series.
Follow Monfries’ diary over the course of the series.
Follow Monfries’ diary over the course of the series.
Monday 24 October - Torquay
Recovery
""After our first team training at the Whitten Oval yesterday, there were a few sore bodies down in Torquay on Monday morning.
""After our first team training at the Whitten Oval yesterday, there were a few sore bodies down in Torquay on Monday morning.
The boys were expecting just a light hammy and quad stretch when we met for recovery. But things turned a bit serious when our fitness coach, Collingwood guru David Buttifant, made us do a two-minute prone hold, a tough set of push-ups and some interesting yoga positions.
I've been sticking as closely as possible to the off-season program that Essendon's new fitness coach Dean Robinson has given me, but you can never be quite prepared for game-based training like we did yesterday. So I was one of those who was a little bit stiff.
Surfing
The weather down in Torquay on Monday could not have been any less suited for a trip to the beach. It was freezing cold, belting rain and howling a gale.
Most of the boys decided to give the water a miss and stayed huddled up inside the surf club.
The tougher ones amongst us gave it a crack though, including Brad Green, James Frawley, Callan Ward and Jack Trengove, David Wojcinski, big Zac Smith and me.
It wasn't any warmer in the water than it was out, but it was good fun anyway. Living on the coast, 'Wojo' has a bit more surfing experience than the rest of the group and it showed.
Most of the boys decided to give the water a miss and stayed huddled up inside the surf club.
The tougher ones amongst us gave it a crack though, including Brad Green, James Frawley, Callan Ward and Jack Trengove, David Wojcinski, big Zac Smith and me.
It wasn't any warmer in the water than it was out, but it was good fun anyway. Living on the coast, 'Wojo' has a bit more surfing experience than the rest of the group and it showed.
The spread
One of the great things about being in a camp-type scenario is the endless supply of food and drink. As you can see from the picture below, we had a pretty good spread waiting for us for lunch when we got back from the beach.
Jake 'The Push-up' King helped himself to the biggest plate of pasta and a few bread rolls. I guess you need plenty of fuel for the muscles when you're doing all those push-ups.
We're all well fed and looking forward to our training session later this afternoon.""
Click here for further details on the International Rules Series.
Click here to purchase tickets to Friday night’s IRS match at Etihad Stadium.
Click here to purchase tickets to Friday night’s IRS match at Etihad Stadium.
Click here to purchase your case of the limited edition Dyson Heppell commemorative wine.
