There’s Melbourne heat and then there’s Queensland heat.
As the Western Bulldogs stepped off the plane at Mooloolaba on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast on Tuesday, the first thing that hit as they arrived for the 10 day training camp is the humidity. But nothing will distract this group of Bulldogs from putting their heads down and getting to work as they prepare for the 2018 season, least of all veteran defender Dale Morris.
“It’s a different stimulus coming up here,” he told westernbulldogs.com.au on Wednesday.
“Obviously it’s going to be hot back home but it’s a different sort of heat here, the humidity gets you, and as soon as you get off the plane you feel it.
“[But] I still love it. There’s not many jobs out there that you get paid to keep fit and to be surrounded by all your mates at the same time, everyone going through the same things, the same pain and going through all this work together, it’s a great feeling.”
Morris made his debut in Round 5 2005 and has reached the point in his career where longevity and endurance are now synonymous with his name, but for the player himself, not much has changed; the drive to get better still burns.
“It doesn’t change for me weather it’s my first year or 13th or 14th or whatever it gets too, nothing changes, you want to improve every year, you want to get fitter, you want to get stronger, you want to work on your craft and your skills, Morris said.
“Nothing changes.”
What has changed is the makeup of the 2018 team following the retirements of club stalwarts Matthew Boyd and Robert Murphy who last year hung up their boots after 292 and 312 games respectively, but according to Morris, it’s naturally led to fresh voices speaking up in meetings from inside and outside the leadership group.
“It’s great,” he said, “you’re hearing different voices in meetings, we’ve got a younger leadership group this year and it’s good to see their leadership styles coming out.
“They’ve got to learn and develop their own along the way, but it’s great to hear in the meetings, not just our new leadership group speaking up, but it’s the other guys outside that leadership group, they’re really stepping up.”
The Dogs take on the GWS Giants in Canberra in Round 1, with the JLT Community Series and AFLX in between, and according to Morris, they’ll be ready, whatever the conditions.
“The guys have attacked pre-season really well, really hard, gone really well so far and giving it all they’ve got.“
