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Since there are some of us here who are also fans of the Doggies staff who prepare the team and basically get them on the field and keep them on the field one way or the other, I thought I would relate a chance encounter I had in the pre-season with Andy Barnett, Bulldogs Strength and Conditioning Coach.
It was a hot, sunny day in January. I had stopped in with the little robots at the Western Bulldogs shop.
We were walking back to the spaceship with our purchases when we passed a thick set bloke whose biceps were bursting out of his t-shirt at the back of the elite training centre. He was setting up a bbq with a couple of others. The door was open and inside you could see lots of evidence of the behind the scenes stuff that has to be dealt with to keep a team on the park. There was a gi-normous clothes dryer in full action, for example.
When he saw us walking by with our flags and caps he called out "goooo Doggies."
The little robots stopped and waved their flags to him and said "yay."
I was intrigued by the bbq, which by now had hamburgers, onions & sausages in full swing. So I asked him, "is that to help put some extra kilos on the draftees?"
He laughed and replied. He had an accent but I couldn't pick it - which shows how much I know about the varieties of English. "No," he said, "this is for the staff, they've been working pretty hard too this week."
"How are the new recruits going?" I asked him.
"They're doing very well, they're very keen, thank you". He replied.
I didn't know it was Andy Barnett until I saw his photo. But I guessed from his physique that he would have something to do with the gym work. That's why I thought to ask him the penetrating questions about the new players. He came across immediately as someone who is relaxed and happy because they have a great job that they like, know well and are really interested in.
And when I worked out from the photos of the senior training staff that it was him, I thought "what a nice bloke, he's been recruited from OS for a highly specialised sports science area but he's prepared to put on a Friday arvo bbq for other members of the training team." Andy Barnett.
Extrapolating a bit from this brief encounter, one thing I like about Macca, from what I can see, he's got a good atmosphere going on at the club.
It was a hot, sunny day in January. I had stopped in with the little robots at the Western Bulldogs shop.
We were walking back to the spaceship with our purchases when we passed a thick set bloke whose biceps were bursting out of his t-shirt at the back of the elite training centre. He was setting up a bbq with a couple of others. The door was open and inside you could see lots of evidence of the behind the scenes stuff that has to be dealt with to keep a team on the park. There was a gi-normous clothes dryer in full action, for example.
When he saw us walking by with our flags and caps he called out "goooo Doggies."
The little robots stopped and waved their flags to him and said "yay."
I was intrigued by the bbq, which by now had hamburgers, onions & sausages in full swing. So I asked him, "is that to help put some extra kilos on the draftees?"
He laughed and replied. He had an accent but I couldn't pick it - which shows how much I know about the varieties of English. "No," he said, "this is for the staff, they've been working pretty hard too this week."
"How are the new recruits going?" I asked him.
"They're doing very well, they're very keen, thank you". He replied.
I didn't know it was Andy Barnett until I saw his photo. But I guessed from his physique that he would have something to do with the gym work. That's why I thought to ask him the penetrating questions about the new players. He came across immediately as someone who is relaxed and happy because they have a great job that they like, know well and are really interested in.
And when I worked out from the photos of the senior training staff that it was him, I thought "what a nice bloke, he's been recruited from OS for a highly specialised sports science area but he's prepared to put on a Friday arvo bbq for other members of the training team." Andy Barnett.
Extrapolating a bit from this brief encounter, one thing I like about Macca, from what I can see, he's got a good atmosphere going on at the club.
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