Andrew Hodges let's you in on the player's routine

A week in the life of a Thunder player

21.04.18 08:15

Our 2018 NEAFL campaign has got off to a positive start, with good wins against last year’s premiers Brisbane Lions at home and an away win last Saturday over Aspley. This week’s challenge doesn’t get any easier, coming up against an in-form Sydney University at TIO Stadium.

Over the past 12 months, the Students have had our measure. A fact our boys are keen to turn around. We go into this game at near full strength, with the inclusions of Joe Anderson, Matt Campbell, Richard Tambling and Ross Tungatalum. All four bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the side.

After two rounds, I thought this may be a good opportunity to share what a week in the life of a Thunder player looks like. Our guys show great commitment to the program, to do what they love each week, which is getting out there on Saturdays, representing the Territory and playing alongside their mates.

The week kicks off on Monday with an active recovery, in which players can report in any time between 4.30pm and 8pm. During this time, they must complete a flush run, which is a light jog to get the body moving again after the previous game. There’s also a light injury prevention gym session, focusing on strengthening areas of the body prone to injury. At 6pm we go through our team review as a group, watching vision of what we did well in the previous game and what room for improvement we have identified for the upcoming game.

Tuesday night is our main training night and this session is focused on skills. This is an opportunity to work on the finer points of the game. Ball movement, skill development and game sense all play a big part. During this session, players will complete somewhere between 5-6km of mid to high range intensity running.

Thursday night is known as the captain’s run. This session is our last chance to prep for the upcoming game. Generally, this is a lighter night, as players get the opportunity to refine skills and work on team structure and ball movement. Post-training the team goes through an opposition review, watching vision of our impending opponent, breaking down their dangers and identifying what opportunities exist for us.

We’ve gone through this routine this week and we’re confident that if we execute our plan we can deliver the four points. We’d love to have your support for this big game tonight!