A SHORT, but intense pre-season gives North Gambier coach Justin McConnell comfort as the Western Border football community heads into lock down.
In ominous signs for the competition, the 2019 premiers are in a confident frame of mind after pushing the boundaries over the summer.
Since the grand final victory, the Tigers enjoyed a slightly longer break over the festive period, before hitting the track in February.
But McConnell said his men returned in flying colours.
“We gave them the challenge to look after their own programs and freshen up mentally and physically,” he said.
“Even though we only trained for about a month, the times and testing show the guys are ahead of what they were last year so full credit to them.
“It gives us a little bit of belief that whatever happens this year, the players will be fit and ready to go.”
That has given McConnell the ability to trust his group and not burden them with any programs to complete over the next few months.
He said the break provides an opportunity to reflect on the progress made over the preseason and see if players can maintain their fitness.
“We see this setback as a bit of an opportunity for us to see where the guys are at,” McConnell said.
“We have not given them a specific program to do and left them to their own devices, while checking in with what they are doing in small groups via online platforms.
“The important thing is they know what motivates them – for some of them it is running, riding or boxing.
“We have given them that freedom and they have earned that level of trust.”
North captain Brad Stafford said the players have relished the challenge and created a fun and competitive battle within the group.
“We are just setting challenges with each other at the moment, so it’s backs v mids v forwards,” he said.
“Just to get a bit of competitiveness going, we post a challenge once a week on our Facebook group.
“You have to do a certain amount of running or weights just to make sure everyone is doing what they need to behind the scenes.
“Michael Telford is pretty good in the running and Sam Shepherd has been showing some boys up.
“It spurs you on a little bit and it’s good for keeping the morale up.”
The yellow and black’s playing list has also enjoyed a seamless summer and McConnell expects few player movements as his men hunt for back-to-back titles.
“They are a driven, motivated, professional and loyal bunch of players in the right age demographic,” he said.
“They are good friends – a lot of them play basketball and cricket together, so they are a tight-knit group.
“When you taste success you want a little bit more, so we are probably going to keep 95pc of our list.”
The stable side was preparing for a trial game in the first week of April, but like all other sporting activities, it was called off.
McConnell said himself and the rest of the team were looking forward to a competitive return after addressing some weaknesses.
“We had a trial game that was not meant to be, so when that time comes around the eagerness and enthusiasm to play is there,” he said.
“All the guys were really fit and could identify they had areas to improve on, so were desperately keen to get started again.”
With the timing of round one up in the air, McConnell believed the prospect of football returning gives everyone in the community light at the end of the tunnel.
“Whether the break is six or 16 weeks, footy gives us an outlet,” he said.
“Footy gives us hope and something to strive for in this really tricky time.
“We are all just missing that connection with not only players, but staff, supporters and sponsors.
“There is no playbook for what is happening in the world right now, we have just got to ride it out and stay healthy.”
