NRL Warriors turn to New Zealand Breakers basketball team for travel help

ANDREW McFadden has turned to three-time NBL champions, the New Zealand Breakers in a bid to improve the Warriors’ woeful record in Australia.

NRL Match

WHEN it comes to victories in Australia, the Warriors have long struggled for success.

It’s why Andrew McFadden’s men have turned to three-time NBL champions, the New Zealand Breakers in a bid to improve their woeful record Down Under.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal the Warriors are planning to hold talks with their Kiwi counterparts about challenges of travelling in sport.

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The Breakers regularly travel throughout Australia for their 28-match regular season schedule, but have managed to master their preparation to win three NBL titles in the past four years.

It’s an impressive success rate that’s an invaluable insight for the Warriors, who have won just 11 of their past 37 away games and haven’t won more than four matches on the road since 2011.

It’s an alarming statistic that coach McFadden is fully aware of and keen to atone heading into the 2015 NRL season.

“We’ve certainly looked at other sports and we’ve got a highly successful team right here in New Zealand in the Breakers,” McFadden said.

“They are always travelling and they’ve won three championships in the last four years, so they are someone we’ve drawn on.

“I know when Matt Elliott was coach here, he was really good mates with the head coach at the Breakers at the time and that’s something we’ve learnt a lot from.

“We’ve done a lot of research into travel in the off-season and what we need to improve there.

“It really comes back to 24-hour athlete philosophy and we have been trying to educate the team about what to do when they are away.

“There are all sorts of things that you can get wrong, in terms of food and sleep.

“So we are going to work really hard around the fundamentals of travel and when we get that right, then you can’t use that excuse for poor performance.

“So it’s really about getting those fundamentals right so it isn’t an issue and we are pretty confident we can get through that this year.”

Breakers High Performance manager Mike Fitchett said the current ladder leaders have altered their road schedule in recent years to cater for the team’s individualised needs.

This means travelling to Australia the afternoon before a match, while not returning until the morning afterwards.

“We regularly play on a Sunday afternoon, which is reasonably similar to a rugby league schedule,” Fitchett explained.

“What we try and do is be in Australia for as little time as possible.

“We’ll try and land at about 5.00pm on the Saturday evening, so we’ll practice at home on Saturday morning and get the guys through a reasonably intense practice.

“Then they’ll go away and have a meal, before getting out to the airport for a 12.00pm flight which will land in Australia about 5pm.

“We used to go two nights before a game, but after talking with the playing group they said they’d prefer to go the afternoon before from a mental point of view.

“That way they could spend more time at home with the family and be in their own bed.”

Fitchett also stressed the importance of building a strong connection with your airline to obtain the best seating and food.

Once in Australia, he said the Breakers complete a light training session before eating and going to bed.

Fichett also revealed the importance of keeping the team on New Zealand time in order to maintain normal sleeping and eating patterns despite a two-hour time delay.

He said post-match can vary depending on when the team plays or has to back up, but mostly leave the morning after matches.

“The team told us they want to get home as quick as possible, so we are on the 8.30am flight home the day after games,” he said.

“That means an early wakeup, around 5am, but we are generally home about 2pm (NZ time) the day after a game.

“That way you’re still on your own time and your body clock isn’t out of whack.

“I know the Warriors have struggled just watching on as a fan, but we’ve got a great relationship with them.

“I know our front offices do a lot of idea sharing, so it’s a good situation to be in.

“In the end, we’re just trying to beat the Aussies.”

BREAKERS’ GUIDE TO WINNING IN AUSTRALIA

*Complete a moderate training session and leave for Australia the afternoon before the match

*Build a great relationship with Air New Zealand to obtain all the benefits like seating and food.

*Upon arrival do a light session with stretching to relax the playing group

*Make sure the team stays on New Zealand time, so don’t alter sleeping or eating habits based on the two-hour time delay.

*Take your time with post-match recovery and don’t fly back to New Zealand until the following morning.

Originally published as NRL Warriors turn to New Zealand Breakers basketball team for travel help