Welcome to my second pre-season diary as we head towards Christmas and the end of 2012 and look forward to an exciting 2013. This fortnight’s edition will give you my insight into what has happened in my life and around the club over the past week.

Friday 14/12

After catching up on some rest and relaxation on our day off the previous day, the group gathered at Alberton at 9.00am for another solid session. The wet, rainy and humid conditions were more suited to tropical Queensland but it still provided some relief from the oppressive, dry heat that we had experienced earlier in the week.

Our session was again very demanding and involved a significant amount of running, tackling and competitive work pitting forwards against backs. A key part of this session, as with all sessions, involved skills and ball movement as we look to improve in all areas heading into 2013.

After a break for lunch the boys headed back to the club for a weights and tackling session followed by massage to aid recovery and prepare us for more tough training days ahead.

Saturday 15/12

Today provided another early morning with the group meeting at North Adelaide for an 8.00am start.  As per every Saturday, the group spent part of the session running around the University loop in the parklands and the remainder of the session doing hill sprints in North Adelaide.

On completion of the intense session, I headed back to Alberton for a recovery session and a swim in the pool.

After a bite to eat for lunch I spent the last part of the afternoon watching the Aussies take on Sri Lanka in the test match down at Hobart. I took extra interest in Blundstone Arena at Bellerive, given that we’ll be playing our first ever game against North Melbourne at that venue in Round 6 next year.

That night after dinner, I, Lobbes and Hitchy took in a movie at Marion on the advice of Kane Cornes. I’m not sure if Kane was winding us up or as a film critic he makes a fantastic footballer but the film he recommended was Pitch Perfect, a chick flick that was far from perfect for three blokes…in fact it was an absolute stinker and what made it more awkward was that we were the only three blokes in the cinema! We’ll never get those two hours back and Kane certainly has a lot to answer for.

Sunday 16/12

Sunday is a day off so I took the opportunity for a bit of a lazy sleep-in to recharge the batteries. I spent the morning tidying up around the house and I also took in a bit more of the cricket.

In the afternoon I went out for a spot of Christmas shopping for the family. Obviously I can’t mention it here because my nearest and dearest might read it but I’m pretty happy with my purchases and hopefully they are as well.

That night I cooked dinner for the lads and whipped up my signature dish of Salmon and vegetables which certainly hit the spot.

The remainder of the night was spent relaxing and watching television ahead of what will be another very solid week on the track.

Monday 17/12

Back at Alberton for a 9.00am start and the group took part in a session very similar to last Friday’s. It involved plenty of running, tackling and competitive work as well as a lot of work with the footballs.

After lunch we broke into our usual groups for our weights, massage and craft sessions, where coaches work on individual areas that need improvement in each player’s game.

Late in the afternoon the players took part in our annual Christmas Planet Teal coaching clinic for our junior supporters and members. It was great to see so many youngsters, both boys and girls, and their families decked out in Port Adelaide guernseys and apparel. The clinic involved players taking the children through kicking, goal kicking, tackling and marking sessions. The kids were fantastic and so willing to learn and it was great to see the smiles on their faces and to be able to give something back to our next generation of supporters.

Tuesday 18/12

The group gathered at Alberton for another 9.00am start with today more about education than physical training. On Tuesdays we often take part in “walk throughs” where we talk about and step through game plans and how we want to structure up at certain points during a game. Today was slightly different, however, with the coaches putting together  a quiz on game-style. The quiz was a multiple choice scenario with players able to answer through their mobile phones. It was great to hear that all the boys did well, and although I’m no Tony Barber, I still managed to pass with flying colours.

The afternoon was spent doing a special competition, almost decathlon-like. We split into five teams with yours truly representing the green group. The rest of my team are made up of Schulzy, Brett Ebert, Hosko, Lobbes, Lewis Stevenson and the three Tommys – Jonas, Logan and Clurey.

The competition included the quiz results, weights, GPS averages and a swimming carnival. The weight’s results were measured on as many reps each player could do for bench presses, chin ups and bench pulls, the GPS data was measured on the kilometres run by each player at training while the swimming leg accounted for as many laps as each player could manage in twenty minutes. So far the good guys in green are winning so hopefully we can keep up our good form in the new year.

Wednesday 19/12

As per usual the boys met at the club for a 9.00am start. Today’s session would prove to be the hardest yet with more running, more contested drills and more boxing, grappling and tackling. Once again the footballs were out which gave us our usual opportunity to work on skills and ball movement.

After lunch, we all returned to Alberton for another intense weights session followed by a massage to relieve the weary muscles.

That evening, our development coaches put on a barbie here at the club for our first to third year players followed by a movie night downstairs in the lecture theatre taking in Tom Cruise at his best in Top Gun. It was certainly a better movie than Kane’s Pitch Perfect.

So that is how the last week has played out in my eyes. I hope you’re enjoying my diary and I look forward to sharing my observations again with you early in the New Year. In the meantime, thanks for your continued support and don’t forget to jump on board as a member if you haven’t done so yet because we are doing everything we can to set ourselves up for 2013.

I actually think a Port Adelaide membership would make a great Christmas present for a loved one if you haven’t completed your Christmas shopping. Talking about Christmas, I hope you and your family have a safe a merry festive period and I can’t wait to touch base with you again in 2013. Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!