AFL quarantine hub: Gary Ablett, Shane Edwards train together in Gold Coast transition hub
Gary Ablett, Shane Edwards and Dan Hannebery will be finals rivals in a matter of weeks, but for now they are training together inside the AFL’s quarantine hub. SEE THE PICTURES
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Shane Edwards handballing to Gary Ablett who flicks it to Dan Hannebery who punches a short pass to a leading target.
It sounds like a representative match, but this is training inside the AFL’s quarantine hub as three stars from rival clubs tune up together for finals on a small field hard up against the fence of their Gold Coast resort.
“It’s pretty different,” two-time Richmond premiership player Edwards said.
“It (training surface) is about the size of the (centre) square on a footy oval. You look at it and you think, ‘How can this be hard’?
“But once you start, it’s hard up here. It’s humid. It’s pretty intimidating just trying to keep it inside the fence, because there is a lake just off to the side.”
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For the next 10 days until their quarantine ends, the trio will merge their programs and train together before returning to their clubs ahead of the final round of the home-and-away season.
Friday’s hour-long session — the first of their joint sessions — involved a series of in-tight drills and short release kicks that could go barely 25m.
With a lake and golf course on one side, hotel facilities on the other and makeshift goalposts at one end backing onto accommodation, there was little room for error.
The players also completed a block of six-second 40m sprints, running diagonally across the surface to use every available inch of space.
Edwards is confident the tight confines won’t be a hindrance to his preparation, declaring himself ready for a comeback against Adelaide in Round 18 “barring any mishaps”.
It would be his first match since Round 5 after staying home for the birth of his daughter Mya.
“We’ve had a large training block already back home in Melbourne, and the other guys have as well,” Edwards said.
“We’re due for a few lighter sessions. We’ve planned it so our training here doesn’t really have to be huge with long runs and long kicks.
“We’ll use it as a tune-up, but also stay sharp with a bit of contested stuff and sharp movements in a small area.”
Edwards said he was relishing the chance to train with two-time Brownlow medallist Ablett.
“It’s pretty surreal. It’s actually something I will probably reflect back on at the end of my career and think, ‘What an unbelievable opportunity’,” he said.
“You know so much about him (Ablett), but haven’t really met him properly, and he’s just an amazing bloke and I’m going to try to learn as much as I can from him.”
The sessions are completed under the close watch of club representatives Andrew Mackie (Geelong), Sam Lonergan (Richmond) and Andrew Wallis (St Kilda).
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Richmond youngster Bigoa Nyuon, recovering from a shoulder injury, was also part of the training group. Recovering Saint Jade Gresham watched but did not train.
Edwards is confident the Tigers, sitting inside the top-four, have improvement left.
“We’re going all right at the moment,” he said.
“Guys are in good form. There’s still things we need to improve on, obviously making the most of our dominance going inside 50.
“We’re still learning and still finetuning our game plan.”
Originally published as AFL quarantine hub: Gary Ablett, Shane Edwards train together in Gold Coast transition hub