Combining a series of training sessions with hiking and other outdoor challenges, the draftees returned to the club exhausted but enriched by the experience.
Jackson Paine, Collingwood’s first selection (No. 50 overall) in the 2011 National Draft, says that the most positive feature of the camp was that the players all gelled well and developed a close bond with each other.
“It was great fun. Its main function was to act as a bonding session and it really worked well in that way. The boys got a lot closer and we had a lot of sessions that asked a lot of us and we used them well, so it was a good camp.”
Despite only joining the club a few weeks ago, the players were not spared from a series of physically and mentally testing activities that drove home the reality that hard work awaits them in their debut season.
“We’re all very happy. There were a few testing sessions where we could have got distracted and not warm to the situations and the environment, but everyone really committed themselves to it and worked really well,” Paine enthuses.
“It was testing physically and mentally,
“We spent Sunday climbing Cradle Mountain which was about a seven hour expedition. At the end of that we were told that we were going to go for a run, which was mysterious as we weren’t told how long it was going to be. We thought it would be 2-3 kilometres, and we ended up going for 10 kilometres, so it was very, very testing physically.”
The draftees, who come from as near as East Malvern (Paine) and as far as Cairns (Peter Yagmoor) and Ireland (Caolan Mooney), were also able to learn more about each other’s personalities. The players learnt what makes each other tick and discovered the different pathways each has trod to the big time.
“On the first night, we had a very deep and meaningful chat where we were told to bring symbolic items. We had a good chat and found out a few things that you wouldn’t expect to find out about a lot of people,”
“It was very meaningful in terms of learning about other people.”
Skydiving was a rumoured activity in the week leading up to the camp, and Paine says he was the relieved when it was revealed that white-water rafting was the alternative.
“The white-water rafting was great. It was really good, even in rough water at times. It was a good experience, we had a lot of laughs and fun times which was very important,” Paine said.
“Our boat won a couple of races. We had Bucks, Doctor Tony Page and Caolan Mooney, who’s actually scared of water. Us four were on board and we actually won the races. It’s fair to say that we were up there with the better ones.
Western Australian ruckman Corey Gault (selection No. 65 in the National Draft) is all smiles during the hike. Photo: Jackson Paine.
Nathan Buckley, Craig McRae, Corey Gault, Lachlan Smith, Michael Hartley and Peter Yagmoor don the caving outfits. Photo: Jackson Paine.
Senior coach Nathan Buckley poses in front of the picturesque Tasmanian backdrop. Photo: Jackson Paine.
Peter Yagmoor, Jarrod Witts and Marley Williams pause for a photo. Photo: Jackson Paine.
