Cats show adaptable side
In uncharted territory, JOSH BARNES reveals how the Cats coped with their Round 1 trip to Sydney in the midst of the coronavirus crisis
FROM the moment the players held a team meeting on the grass to when they ran out in front of empty stands at Giants Stadium, the Cats stepped into a Twilight Zone interstate trip — familiar but different.
With restrictions and protocols in place to protect players — and the public — from contracting coronavirus, the Geelong group shared a chartered plane trip to and from Sydney with Melbourne’s AFLW side.
Both teams headed to face Greater Western Sydney in their respective competitions and their moods were contrasting on the return flight, after Geelong lost and Melbourne won.
It was the end of the most unusual build-up to Round 1 in memory, with AFL protocols urging teams to conduct team meetings online and players told to wash their hands whenever possible.
Geelong conducted some of its team meetings on the GMHBA Stadium grass, with players on bended knee watching the big screen for information.
Small forward Luke Dahlhaus said the amount of players in drills had been cut down, weight sessions were conducted in smaller teams and even meal time was split into backline, midfield and forward groups, leaving him desperate to get a plate full before Tom Hawkins had his share.
“There are all sorts of things going on. There is hand sanitiser every time you turn around,” Dahlhaus told K rock Football.
TALL forward Hawkins said the Cats arrived to a much quieter airport than usual on Friday, but apart from that, once aboard the chartered plane, travel was relatively normal.
“In terms of protocol, certainly we had to do a little bit differently, but nothing that restricted our preparation at all,” Hawkins said.
“We were well prepared and well educated obviously on what’s happening.
“It was very much the same. The airport has been very quiet and everyone has been keeping their distance.
“We’ve been travelling with the Melbourne AFLW side. They obviously had a fantastic win and they are a bit happier than us at the moment.”
Generally, AFL players are urged to go for a walk to get some fresh air and stretch the legs when playing interstate.
Given the Cats were staying in western Sydney, Hawkins said there was still room to get out of the hotel.
“Fortunately, being out near the Giants precinct meant that there usually isn’t that many people around there from my experience,” he said.
“It’s pretty quiet, which means we were able to go out and go for a walk.”
The Cats held a standard team meeting at the hotel. They had exclusive access to their hotel floor from the moment they arrived to the moment they left. They completed their final light training session at Giants Stadium on the Friday.
“Even being on the road, it’s been a good day,” Geelong assistant coach Matthew Knights told K rock Football before the game.
“We stayed together at the hotel mainly and had a bit of a walk here and there. At the team meeting we held at the motel I felt the players were switched on and they were ready to play good football.”
Speaking after Geelong fell to a 32-point loss to GWS, head coach Chris Scott said the travel was inconsequential in the grand scheme.
“The travel this week and this game, if you think that is a challenge you are going to be ill-equipped to deal with the next month or so,” he said.
“It was slightly more difficult but it wasn’t the reason we lost.”
THE weirdest moment of the experience for Hawkins came when entering the field of play with nobody there to watch.
Once the game began though, the rhythms and focus of the match drew all of his attention, even as he had to slightly adjust his set-shot routine to aim at empty seats.
“Obviously at the start when you first go out there and there is nobody there it was a bit different,” Hawkins said.
“But once the game starts and you’re in game mode, you get entrenched in what your role is and how you can help the team. As weird as it’s going to sound, there was no atmosphere, but once you’re in a game, I sort of didn’t notice it as much. (Kicking for goal) it wasn’t something that bothered me too much, there are still plenty of seats to aim at.”
Further protocols enforced by the AFL virtually removed high-fives from the game, created more space in team huddles and meant the winners didn’t link arms to sing the club song.
The Cats were given designated water bottles and they offered a fist, rather than a hand, when celebrating a goal.
WHILE the AFL season has now been postponed, Hawkins remained proud of the way his teammates handled the week leading up to Round 1, even though the result didn’t go Geelong’s way.
“It was certainly different mentally to prepare but it certainly wasn’t draining,” Hawkins said. “It was certainly different, but I’m proud of the way not just our group but the whole AFL competition has carried itself.”