Hawks shun sun for NZ wilderness

HAWTHORN will tomorrow embark on a gruelling trip across the ditch that fitness boss Andrew Russell hopes will test the Hawks both mentally and physically.

The club has abandoned its usual pre-season training on the Sunshine Coast in favour of a New Zealand South Island jaunt that will see players train before heading to the bush to be pushed to their limits.

“We’re combining our highperformance training camp with a good old fashioned ‘get out in the bush and do some hard work’,” Russell said.

“We’ll have five days in Queenstown ... for a heavyskills, heavy-run program. Then, we’re going to go out into the Rangitata River region (between Queenstown and Christchurch) and walk some mountains, ride bikes, go down rapids, do high-ropes courses and have some quality time together but work hard.”

Russell forecast extensive periods of pressure to draw the group – new players and staff included – closer.

“We’ll spend 10 to 12 hours a day out in the mountains in a fatigued state, under stress,” he said.

“There’s no better way to learn about people than how they respond to a stressful situation.”