How a month in ‘The Cage’ could prove to be the making of Mitch McGovern
He played the early part of last season at 95kg. Now, he is well below that figure thanks to his hard work in ‘The Cage’. He recounts the ‘terrifying’ sessions that got him to where he is now.
Carlton
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Mitch McGovern still has nightmares about life in “The Cage”.
Even now – seven months on – the thought of that exhaustive, almost vomit-inducing four-week training block with Carlton director of high performance Andrew Russell gives the talented Blues forward the cold sweats.
He has NO intention of ever going back.
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“It was terrifying,” McGovern, 25, said of the one-on-one sessions in the gym and on the ground with Russell or strength and conditioning coach Matt Bode.
“It was the hardest training block I have ever done in my entire footy career.
“It was gruelling on your body 24/7. It was three days a week training and an extra day as a top-up with either the Alter G (machine) or something else.”
Russell’s individual training blocks for players out of shape have become almost legendary in AFL from his time at Hawthorn and now at Carlton.
While the Blues were reluctant to provide details of what being in The Cage entails, the former Adelaide player described it as the most physically and mentally demanding experience of his football life.
McGovern recounted: “You can’t hide in The Cage, that’s what ‘Jack’ (Russell) told me, and he was right.”
It wasn’t planned that way, but he won the respect of his teammates who watched on – sometimes cheering him – in sessions, knowing how important he will be in potentially elevating the Blues back to their glory days.
“It was pretty isolating but the playing group and the coaching staff helped me through it,” he said.
“You can see from the outside how close we are as a group.
“That’s the best thing about this footy club. We are all in it together.”
McGovern this week conceded he only had himself to blame when joining the Blues from Adelaide after the 2018 season in poor shape — even if there were a few excuses others might have used.
He was coming off double ankle surgery, and after a 2018 off-season trip to Vietnam with his girlfriend Kirsten, he wasn’t too concerned about excess skinfolds.
“I didn’t come back in the best condition, so right away I was on the back foot,” he confessed.
“We were in Vietnam and you can’t do a lot of training when you are coming off a double ankle.
“In hindsight, I don't back away from the fact that I didn't do the right thing.”
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Then, in the last training session of 2018, McGovern fell awkwardly in a marking drill and suffered a non-displaced fracture of the back.
It was bad timing. He couldn’t regain that fitness edge, and to make it even harder the McGovern family held their Christmas in Bali.
“I was bedridden and couldn't move,” he said of his time in Bali.
“I spent most of it in an airconditioned bedroom.”
When he returned to training early last year, underdone and slightly overweight, he tried to push through it.
He now regrets playing in Round 1 against Richmond – his first game in navy blue – and in a handful of others games, but did so because as one of the Blues’ marquee recruits he felt he needed to prove himself to his new teammates.
“I’ve learnt a lesson. When I think I am right to go, I am right to go, but when I am not ready now, I’m going to put my hand up and say I am not ready.”
McGovern played 13 of the Blues’ first 16 games in 2019 – kicking 17 goals – but his on-field impact was nowhere where it should have been, nor what he had produced in three seasons with the Crows.
“Teaguey and I have a really strong relationship, where we can say honestly what we are feeling,” he said. “We had a few chats around Round 5 or 6.
“I needed to work on my fitness during the year, but that’s difficult when you have all these small niggly things (hamstring tightness and other issues).
“That all came from not having a base in the pre-season.”
It came to a head after the Round 16 clash with Melbourne – where he had five disposals and didn’t kick a goal.
The coach, with whom he had formed a good relationship at the Crows, told him he wouldn’t play again until he was physically right.
It was a bold move from an interim coach needing wins to secure the full-time job, but Teague knew it was the best way forward for McGovern – and for the team.
Teague didn’t sugar-coat it, McGovern said.
“He is so black and white, you know where you stand. That’s why everyone in this footy club loves him.
“He brought me into his office and said, ‘We are not going to play you this week … there is no point going back to the VFL and producing the same output'.”
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What came next was a month in The Cage.
He ran so much that he asked not to be told how many kilometres he was doing.
He pounded away in the gym and honed his footy skills with only Russell or Bode for company.
“I just put my boots or runners on and went out there,” he said.
“Towards the back end of it, there was a lot of footy stuff.
“That’s the most difficult thing, when you are training with a team of 45 players, you get a bit of a rest during the drills.
“But when you are training by yourself, there is nowhere to hide.”
McGovern would go home at night so exhausted he could barely fend for himself.
“It wasn’t much fun for Kirsten (his girlfriend), she had to do everything for me," he said. “I’ve got to thank her for that.”
Diet also played a big part. His portion sizes were slashed. His selection modified.
McGovern lost almost five kilos in The Cage. He played the early part of last season at 95kg. This pre-season he is a much leaner 88kg.
Teague was so impressed he brought him straight into the senior side after his month-long training block and the Blues reaped the benefits.
He kicked two goals against Richmond in his first game back and three goals in the win over St Kilda.
“I think he learnt a lot,” Teague said.
“We brought him straight back in because we believed in him and in his talent.
“His last three games were really good.
“He earned a lot of respect from his teammates when he went away and got himself fit.”
Forwards coach Cam Bruce said McGovern could easily have “wiped off” the back end of the season given his physical issues, but impressed his teammates with his willingness to work.
McGovern used his post-season trip to the US as a mini pre-season.
He had a great time with his girlfriend, but did plenty of running and found numerous gyms.
“I did absolutely everything I could,” he said.
“As hard as it is to train over there, I was running everywhere.”
His strong pre-season has more recently been interrupted by a hip joint issue, but Bruce is confident McGovern will be right to go against the Tigers in Round 1.
McGovern is buoyed to be back playing alongside his good mate Eddie Betts, and can’t wait to see what this Carlton side can achieve under Teague.
“When I heard the news (about Betts), the thing that lit up in my mind was seeing the highlights package front and centre again,” he said.
“He knows a tonne about the game. He just brings that knowledge with him.”
The same could be said for McGovern, who has developed a reputation for having an exceptional football brain, much the same as his older brother, West Coast’s Jeremy, who is one of the game’s best defenders.
The McGovern brothers have always been highly competitive, but speak regularly about their careers.
Mitch used his sibling’s own fitness challenges a few years ago as inspiration during his time in The Cage.
Jeremy responded to criticism with four successive All-Australian selections, and a 2018 premiership medal.
“That sat in the back of my mind,” Mitch said.\
“We spoke about it a bit at the time.
“He (Jeremy) was coming off a double hernia. But you are a professional athlete and (ultimately) there are no excuses.”
With that attitude burning away, there is unlikely to be a return to The Cage for McGovern anytime soon.
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Originally published as How a month in ‘The Cage’ could prove to be the making of Mitch McGovern