TOUCHING down in Karratha this morning has provided a nice break from the pre-season routine and shown me how much the people of the Pilbara love their footy.

It's been a hectic day, a lot more hectic than an interstate trip. We've been flat out between the hotel, schools and training sessions.

It all started with a 7:50am flight out of Perth and, while everyone was still waking up on the plane, the guys and I got stuck into some cards. I think I took the honours, while Jamie McNamara and Mark LeCras were probably the worst performers.

There are 15 of us on the trip, including other young players Tony Notte, Nick Naitanui, Luke Shuey, Jordan Jones, Ashley Smith, Mitch Brown, Sam Butler and Callum Wilson.

This morning we did a footy clinic with some school kids, a signing session and a bit of Q&A. I don't think many of the kids had any idea who we were, but we walked in to an Eagles chant and they seemed to love it anyway.

The older guys like Ash Hansen, Andrew Embley, Adam Hunter and Tyson Stenglein got most of the attention.

We've got a pretty solid training session ahead of us in the 40 degree heat, so we'll fuel up for that. But the trip has been a good break so far.

It has also been good to give the guys who are playing against Collingwood this week a bit of space. They need to focus on the game and there are a lot of guys who are playing their first games this week, so I think the nerves might be up a little bit.

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.