Q. Five weeks into preseason, how is it going?
A. Pre season has been very good so far. It is very different this year andwe had to make it different because we were all looking for a renewedapproach to footy. After the disappointment of last year and all of theinjuries, we have really changed things around and the players are reallyenjoying it.
Q. You have structured preseason training like a 9am to 5pm day for theplayers....
A. The days are pretty much 9am to 5pm and we have got away from earlystarts. If the results from the gym and track are anything to go by, Ithink it is a good thing and we are justified structuring the trainingprogram like that. There is a bit of science behind it too, because thebest training time for an athlete is between 10am and 2pm.
Q. At this stage of the season, is your major goal winning the 2003premiership?
A. Our major focus is what does it take to win a premiership - whatphysical requirements do the players need? I think the game has changedfrom a physical point of view over the last two to three years and we haveto move with the times. I think it is very hard to make a change when youare the dominating team - why would you change a winning formula? ToBrisbane and Port Adelaide's credit they changed their program to defeat usand now we have to change our program and hopefully we have the list strongenough to defeat them. We will be giving it a good crack, that is forsure.
Q. Essendon seemed to run out of legs in the final quarter of matches in2003, is that something you have addressed personally?
A. Well if reflects on your job - you are presenting your work in the formof how the players play the game. I also think you have to be realisticthough and I look at who was available for those games and a lot of time wehad players unavailable because of injury - Solomon, Hird, Lloyd, Misitiand you are replacing those senior players with young kids with no trainingbackground. I don't think they had the capacity to play a full game. So wepaid a price and it kept showing up in the final quarter. I think we hadour fourth worst injury rate in more than a decade this year and we feltthat - it is not making an excuse, it is just that you have to berealistic. On another note, I think the style of the way game is played -more stoppages - also is an area from a fitness point of view that I neededto address and I think we have done that.
Q. Are you training the players harder this year?
A. I don't think our players could train harder than what we have over thelast three years. I don't believe it is wise to train longer - I think itis all about training more specifically for the demands of the game. Atthis stage, I am really happy about where we have got our players from aphysical point of view and from a running point of view, we have added ontowhat we have had before. There is a new dimension to our running and a lotmore specific work. I am feeling quite confident about the preparedness ofour team.
Q. All of the players seem very refreshed around the club - do you thinkthat has a lot to do with the injection of youth around the place?
A. I don't know if it is just the youth. I am looking at guys like JamesHird, Sean Wellman and Paul Barnard and I see that they are excited to behere. I think when you are 30-ish and you are excited about coming to workeveryday - it is a very important thing. I am also seeing guys like CoryMcGrath - who sort of feel like this might be their last chance and theyare really going for it and that is lifting everyone else. Then you have aguy like Dean Solomon, who has almost been in the wilderness for a year andthere was no where for him to go. Suddenly he has got a place and he knowshow important he is to the team. In some respects, I don't think herealised how important he was and even the fans didn't, until we didn'thave him. He has really lifted and that is inspiring the people around him.Then you have all of these young kids, that are really pushing for a spotin the senior team now that opportunities have been created. It is not justthe players that have been energised, it is the coaches as well andeveryone knows we have some business to do.
Q. What players are currently on modified programs?
A. At this stage - Damien Peverill, Mark Bolton, Simon O'Keefe, MarkMercuri, Joel Reynolds, James Hird and Matthew Lloyd are doing differenttypes of programs. They are actually modified programs as opposed torehabilitation programs. We are actually trying to be smarter with thetraining and making sure these guys are handled professionally.
Q. Is it fair to say that everyone will be fit and available for Round1?
A. I would expect after the Christmas break we will only have O'Keefe on amodified program and then everyone will be ready for Round 1.
Q. Not to single individuals out because everyone is training hard, butis there a particular player that has really impressed you on the trainingtrack so far?
A. Cory McGrath has stepped up across the board and we have been very happywith him. I think Mark McVeigh is another one who is really striving tomove forward. Rob Forster-Knight has added a new dimension to hispreparation as well. They are the stand-outs, but you can't forget JamesHird. He dominants nearly every session we do, whether it is on the trackor in the gym. It he is not on top, he is there pushing the person that is- he is a very impressive person. It will be interesting to see what sortof year he has because he is really setting himself for a big one. I thinkthe new recruits are also very exciting. Cupido has got good strength andis very quick. I am not the skills coach, but I see his skills out on thetrack and it is very exciting to see what he can do.
Q. Over the Christmas period, the players have three weeks off - do yougive them a training program?
A. Every player gets their own individual program and I also ring themevery second or third day to make sure they are alright.
Q. Do the players get to let their hair down at all?
A. I suppose what I don't know won't hurt me I suppose! I think Christmasis a very special time to be with your family and to get away and relaxbecause it is a very intense year. It is important for the players to getaway and if that means letting their hair down for a night or two, then sobe it. You have to live a life, however if that then impacts on yourpreparation and you come back to training de-trained and overweight thenthat is not letting your hair down - it is being unprofessional and selfishto the rest of the team who is striving to win a premiership. This is myfifth pre season at the club and I have never had an instance where someonehas let the team down and I have been disappointed.
Q. How are those dreaded hill sessions going on a Thursday - I haven'theard a good word about them from the players?
A. They are a very tough session and they take the players to the brink oftheir aerobic system, so I suppose they are not very pleasant. The playersalmost look forward to them with a sense of dread, but they really enjoythe challenge of getting through them. I have one more to go beforeChristmas, so I am going to make it one they won't forget!
