Richmond trains in Townsville to get used to hot conditionsLiam Butterworth
Herald-Sun
December 02, 2014THE Richmond Tigers are clearly not in Townsville for a tropical holiday.
The Tigers squad was watched by a small but loyal contingent of Australian Rules fans on Monday for the first open training session at Tony Ireland Stadium.
But the squad battled through the heat as the coaches put them through various running and ball skills sessions to continue the long road to the 2015 season.
The bulk of the Tigers started pre-season training three weeks ago, joined by the senior playing group a week later.
But Monday was the first time draftees Corey Ellis, Connor Menadue, Nathan Drummond, Daniel Butler and Reece McKenzie got to train with the squad after being picked up last Thursday.
The Tigers went to Cairns for a pre-season camp two years ago and defender Dylan Grimes said the trip to Townsville, and the training in the heat, would prove invaluable at key times of next season.
“I think the biggest focus is around team-building and having the team together,” Grimes said.
“Having said that there’s some great physical gains to be made up in conditions like this.
“We’ve had issues in the past particularly when we’ve played Gold Coast, in Alice Springs and up in Cairns.
“There’s a bit of acclimatisation and getting used to the heat.
“It’s a long pre-season and there’s plenty more of this to come.
“When we played in the final it was pretty hot as well, so getting used to these conditions is pretty important to us.”
The Tigers won their last nine games straight to sneak into the top-eight and play finals footy for the second year running, but are not afraid of aiming higher next year.
“We know that we are a good team, it’s just a matter of playing the way we play,” Grimes said.
“Early in the season we had issues for a bunch of different reasons but there’s now quite a lot of clarity about what we have to do and a real confidence there to take it from round one and run with that.
“We’re excited.”
The Tigers will hold another open training session tomorrow, but what exactly is in store for the rest of the week remains a mystery to the players.
“We know it’s going to be pretty tough but we don’t know what’s in store,” Grimes said.
“It’s going to be blood, sweat and tears, I think.”
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