By DAVID ROWLANDS
NORTH SHORE TIMES - 10/12/2004
Norths’ Premier League squad hits the dunes. Photo: STEVE LITTLE
While most of you are
enjoying a
lengthy sleep-in on Sunday morning,
They might not be a professional NRL outfit, but they sure are training like one in the lead-up to 2005.
Their pre-season preparation consists of six sessions a week, but nothing is tougher than what they endure each Sunday morning.
On successive weekends in November they conquered the sand dunes of Kurnell, then underwent an intense grilling from Navy commandos at Balmoral.
Both sessions lasted around three hours. Opinions differ among the 25 players over which one was more demanding, but the common theme cannot be disputed.
“I think torture is a good word for it,” observed Bears backrower Matt Thurston, who was one of their best performers in 2004.
On the doorstep of our nation’s birthplace, they hauled themselves up sand dunes of varying heights over a dozen times, under the direction of new club conditioner Jamie Pappa, who has won instant acclaim and respect for his methods.
Even from that
distance, we
could hear their calf muscles screaming on the
A repeat visit to Kurnell has been slated for the New Year and it promises to be even more brutal on the body.
“They reckon they only went light on us that day, so I’m not looking forward to the next one,” Thurston said.
At Balmoral they went through the same type of course used by the Navy to determine which recruits are up to scratch and which ones can’t cut it.
In other words, it’s survival of the fittest; a big time boot camp.
Around 200 hopefuls are rejected by the Navy each year on the basis of not being able to cope with this grueling examination that is heavily weighted towards team-work.
The Bears passed the muster, before passing out
“It’s all about
digging deep and helping
through tough times,” Thurston said of the session that shattered
“This is the sort of hard work that we’ve got to do if we want to turn things around (next season).”
At Balmoral, the Bears had the commandos’ creed embedded in them; one they will carry into battle next winter: “Train hard, fight easy”.--------------------------------------------------------------------