Aaaahhhh Queensland, beautiful one day, perfect the next. Rubbish!
It was a great marketing slogan about 20 years ago, encouraging Australians shivering through a southern winter to head north, but the campaign has run its race.
As West Coast Eagles players, coaches and staff snuggled under a doona at Royal Pines Resort overnight, the rain bucketed down, in similar volumes to those that drenched Perth last week.
So the Gold Coast might conjure images of pristine beaches, a myriad of wonderful surf breaks, boardshorts and thongs, but there were white caps in the resort pool this morning.
Well, that’s probably a bit of a stretch, but you get the picture. It rains here, too!
Just the same, there could be much worse locations to be holed up. Maybe there’s a bit of cabin fever striking as the tips of my fingers hit the keyboard that sits on a temporary desk in my room.
As it stands, those of us in this idyllic location are still governed by lock-down rules; social distancing protocols apply, only essential reasons for escaping the resort boundaries are acceptable – supplies at the local supermarket or a take-away coffee.
There are opportunities for players to take their mind off football, so they are not completely consumed by the forth-coming round two match against Gold Coast Suns on Saturday evening. A massive common room is suitably equipped with the pre-requisite video game offerings and the like to break the monotony.
There is also the opportunity to “walk” nine holes and there is an oval as part of this impressive complex – an opportunity for the likes of Tom Hickey, Liam Ryan and Tim Kelly, whose families are here, to avail themselves of a lovely green space.
But as of today, it’s all about the match.
The players began to filter out of Royal Pines Resort from mid-morning, in their groups of eight, for a weight sessions at KDV Sport that has among its array of attractions an expansive gymnasium.
It is positioned a half-distanced Shannon Hurn torpedo from Metricon Stadium, players passing the venue of their 2020 season re-boot on their excursion to pump a little iron. As one group left, another filtered through.
They each completed a tailored program of about 40 minutes in duration. As they went through their routine, those who have a hankering for a round of golf, would have had their focus. Just metres to the right was a driving range – the ping of metal on dimpled projectile a constant random beat.
Maybe that’s why the music was blaring, to drown out that sweet sound of golf ball being sent into orbit.
Once that task was completed, it was then back to the hotel for a meal, taking in the requisite loading for a training session at Metricon Oval 2 – another ground that sits adjacent to the main stadium. Sense of direction is not a strength, exemplified by the fact that a three-minute drive became a 20-minute adventure, but let’s take a punt and say this ground is on the eastern side of the stadium.
By the way, when borders do open up fully, the Botanic Gardens are a scenic drive.
Before we lose our way again, we’ll get back on track. The coaches and players are well prepared, they are, in the main, in good shape and available. They will now start to home in on the opposition, study in more detail the Suns and begin to strategise around what they hope is a winning game plan.
