That’s more or less how this trip has unfolded.
The same faces, jokes, training, roomies and conversation.
Spirits have remained high and the boys haven’t gotten on each other’s nerves too much, with 44 players on the team there’s always someone you haven’t chatted to for a few days, or in some instances longer, depending on what sort of training you’ve been doing.
Fortunately, today we were afforded the afternoon off, once again giving the boys an opportunity to explore Dubai (or recuperate and prepare for one final push).
But first we negotiated a solid morning of handball games, beach soccer and running.
Being the second-to-last day, the team points tally came into focus, with the morning’s games worth double points.
My team, 'Team D' sat in second place, and was quietly confident of its chances.
All-in-all, the day's games only served to create more of a log jam at the top, with a tough final day the only way to determine an outright winner, and bragging rights for weeks to come.
Neadey showed his elite agility and foot skills, tearing up the beach soccer, while Moorey’s strong all-round performance was reflected in his enormous GPS numbers.
Despite the countless grand attractions on offer throughout Dubai, many of the boys opted for a less hectic afternoon.
Small groups of boys spent time at the hotel pool, at one of the two gigantic shopping malls (one of which has its own aquarium and ice rink) or at the Imax theatre.
Myself, and the other members of '2 Chainz' (Lobbes, Ebo, Harts, Karl, Rooster and Moorey) went to the Meydan Beach Club, hoping to get a few shades of brown darker (or pink in mine and Lobbe’s case).
I’m not sure if I’ll get around to writing a journal entry tomorrow night, I might be too busy celebrating!
For that reason it’s worth noting that what felt like an insurmountable task at the beginning has actually sped by, as things tend to do.
Despite being constantly exhausted and missing home (the Adelaide test mtatch) the benefits of this trip are tremendous.
It’s difficult to place a value on a trip like this to a playing group, but the training alone, not to mention the camaraderie and mateship of an already tight-knit group, makes it well and truly worthwhile.
