Tigers train on the tourist trailLAUREN WOOD,
Herald Sun
21 December 2018When tourists typically hit Europe, it’s all hop-on hop-off buses and queues at the landmarks. Not for a swag of Richmond players, who took in some of the world’s best sights as part of their off-season training regime.
Midfielder Kane Lambert — who has re-signed with the club until the end of 2022 — joined four of his teammates on the three-week off-season jaunt that he admitted left fellow premiership Tiger Nathan Broad wondering what he had signed up for.
“Broady was complaining that Burgey, our head of fitness (Peter Burge), had sent him on a trip away with us because he felt like it was a training camp,” Lambert laughed.
“We spent a lot of time training. But we had some fun.”
The trip took Lambert, Broad, Jason Castagna, Dan Butler and Jayden Short from the crystal clear waters of the Adriatic Sea to the motherland of England — where he says it was “two degrees” — with the hard work not letting up along the way.
“We obviously had our program that we had to follow, and we had to modify with only certain surfaces to run on,” Lambert said.
“But we were running in Dubrovnik along the beach which was beautiful scenery and up mountains.
“Then in London, we were running with beanies and gloves on, so we had a real array of different scenes and weather. But it was all character-building, I suppose.
“It was a good way to see the cities and the towns, rather than walking for three hours.”
The 27-year-old and youngsters Ryan Garthwaite and Callum Coleman-Jones have all signed on for four, two and three years respectively.
Lambert, who finished runner-up in Richmond’s best and fairest this year and kicked 15 goals, said the ankle that forced him into surgery late in the season has not given him any trouble since.
And he said he wants to continue to repay the faith the Tigers showed him after he was overlooked in six drafts.
“For five or six years, no other club showed any interest in me, so Richmond were the one that believed in me. This is a place where I feel valued and that I belong.
“I’m trying to do them proud and repay their faith in me in giving me an opportunity.
“I’m rapt to be here for another four years.”
List boss Blair Hartley said Lambert’s value extended beyond the field.
“We’re always so impressed by Kane, whether it’s his commitment and determination as a player, or his impressive character as a person,” he said.
“He gives us everything each day — we’ve loved watching him develop, continue to take his football to another level, and make others around him better.”
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/richmond/kane-lambert-jason-castagna-jayden-short-and-nathan-broad-train-their-way-across-europe/news-story/189e1b70e81e36ca036ad5be4d13aaf6
