Inside the Canberra Raiders’ torture camp which shaped their season
The Raiders were told they lacked an underbelly and were mentally weak even though there was nothing wrong with their skill level or football ability. Here’s how a brutal three-day army camp put them one game away from a premiership.
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It was the three-day torture camp that built Canberra’s resistance.
Told time after time he had a side that lacked mental ferocity, Canberra coach Ricky Stuart organised a camp to test his players’ psychological strength — and bring him closer to a premiership.
Army camps aren’t new — they are a regular part of most clubs’ pre-season training to give players a physical edge coming into the new season.
But this three-day camp wasn’t about getting fitter or stronger. It was purely about mental resilience.
It happened in November last year when many teams, including the defending premiers the Roosters — their rivals in this year’s grand final, were having their off-season break.
Having listened to his players during their post-season review last year, Stuart knew his team needed a harder edge. He thought there was nothing wrong with their skill level or football ability — but they needed a dramatic mental shift.
“We were told that we weren’t mentally tough and we had no resilience,” Stuart said.
“I believed we had more than others thought, but the camp wasn’t a typical army-style of camp. A lot of preparation went into it in terms of finding out who was going to be a team player and who wasn’t going to be.
It was a good start but not everyone bought in. But everyone has bought in now.”
Josh Papalii fronted up two days after his wedding. He brushed a honeymoon to try to turn around a horrid last season for him, when he was axed from top grade.
The choice was easy, he said.
“Me and my missus have been together forever so we can go on a honeymoon whenever,” Papalii said.
“The army camp was the worst idea to attend, but I’m glad I went. It was one of the toughest camps I’ve ever done.
“We had a total lack of sleep — and I love my 10-hour sleep. It’s all worth it now.”
The players were largely based at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Duntroon on the outskirts of Canberra, but the camp took in different parts of the capital.
The instructors used sleep deprivation as a technique for bonding. Players slept outside and were woken by sprinklers spraying water into their faces to rouse them for fitness drills.
They did a beep test at 5am, flipped endless amount of tyres and held bricks above their heads as they completed fitness drills.
Skipper Jarrod Croker said Papalii’s presence helped set the tone for the season.
“We were all a bit dusty still after his wedding and he came,” Croker said.
“That showed the type of player he wanted to be.
“That set the standard pretty quickly in week one.
“It was freezing cold. They put the sprinklers on us. We had to do a thousand reps of squats and burpees with the sprinklers hitting us in the face. That was about midnight.
“We were sleeping under the stars and after two days we were delirious. We were so tired but we couldn’t sleep.
“We were just laying under the stars having a laugh with each other. They are the sort of moments you look back on and made us a tight group.”
Winger Nick Cotric labelled the camp as the “hardest thing I’ve gone through”.
But veteran Iosia Soliola said the ability to play under duress this season evolved after the vulnerability players showed back at the camp — four months before a ball was kicked in anger.
“It was pretty crazy,” he said.
“It really laid a platform for our off-season. It really opened up layers within the boys emotionally and mentally.
“It was a great way for us to bond under adversity. It broke through shackles and barriers. Whereas in the last couple of seasons that’s what we lacked. We’ve got lifelong bonds now.
“In previous years we shied away from things. Now we are a tight-knit group. We’ve
felt comfortable in those uncomfortable times because we’ve had those uncomfortable training sessions.”
Originally published as Inside the Canberra Raiders’ torture camp which shaped their season
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