Adam Cooney reveals crazy superstitions and pre-game routines of AFL players

FROM acupuncture to lucky spaghetti and bedroom bans, ADAM COONEY reveals the crazy lengths AFL players will go to get an edge on match day.

Adam Cooney spends time in a Cyrosauna during his time at the Western Bulldogs. Picture: Michael Klein

IN MY humble opinion, there is no weirder breed of human than an AFL footballer.

AFL football is such a high pressure, elite, competitive environment so naturally players will always be researching, trying to find a new way of gaining that 1 per cent edge (all legally and WADA-approved, of course)

Whether it be physically or mentally, players will come up with all sorts of weird and wacky routines or nuances that they believe will set them up for glory for that two-hour period each weekend.

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Over the years I’ve done Bikram yoga, seen therapists that flick tendons to relive tightness, been in floating pods for relaxation, cut out bread and all refined carbs from my diet, stopped eating sugar and drinking coffee, stopped drinking cow’s milk and had only almond milk for a period of time, seen sports psychologists to try to enhance performance, had weekly acupuncture, cupping treatments, gymnastics lessons and had Moxa treatments (which is a cigar-shaped herbal stick which is lit and placed over sore spots). I’ve tried it all.

I’ve also certainly been sucked into the vortex of footy superstitions.

One superstition I kept throughout my career was strictly no love-making the day before a game.

I had this brain-popping routine in my younger and less sane days where I always ate spaghetti and drank two purple Powerades the night before a game, two yellow Powerades on the day of the game, had to shave my legs and arms (to make me quicker and more aerodynamic), showered exactly one hour before leaving the house, didn’t brush my teeth before a game, always had to wear the same pair of bathers and took the same towel for a shower post-game.

How ridiculous is that!

Adam Cooney spends time in a Cyrosauna during his time at the Western Bulldogs. Picture: Michael Klein

I think I got to this point because when I played well, I thought about what I did leading up to that game then over time added to it slowly until it became exhausting, worrying about ticking off this insane checklist even before I ran out on to the field.

Thankfully, after persisting with this for a couple of years, I cottoned on to the fact that the carry-on I was putting myself through actually had no bearing on how I was going to perform during a game.

The one superstition I kept throughout my career was strictly no lovemaking the day before a game. The cut-off point was exactly 24 hours before the first bounce. Which, coincidentally, was my wife’s happiest time of the week.

This is pretty tame compared to some of the crazy, and occasionally disturbing, things I’ve seen players do in the hope of gaining an edge. A theory some players have tried involves some quality alone time, but I can’t go into any more detail on a family website.

Sydney’s Ted Richards listens to his iPod in the rooms.

Perhaps the most superstitious player I’ve seen is an old teammate who was committed to listening to the same song on repeat on his iPod on the way to the game. At the ground he lined up three drink bottles at his locker and drank an exactly even amount out of each one.

The ultimate pro when it came to preparation and routine was my old teammate Daniel Cross from the Doggies, who just lived and breathed footy.

I once roomed with Crossy on a camp in Queensland and walked into his bedroom at 11:30pm after I heard a loud, repetitive banging noise, to find him banging a Sherrin into the wall practising his ground balls.

It has also been alleged that his wife, Sam, used to hide balls in the top cupboards at home so when he opened them a footy would fall out, testing his reflexes to catch it before it hits the deck.

Another who comes to mind is former teammate, Liam Picken. The Pickens used to live next door to us so I’ve seen first-hand what a meticulous creature Liam is.

His weekly routine involves no heavy lifting or housework, no talk of footy in the house and no visitors on game day. He spends more time at the beach than David Hasselhoff and his wife Annie even gets kicked out of the bed the night before the game!

Liam Picken doesn’t want any distractions on game day. Picture: Michael Klein

I don’t think he has ever missed a training session in his life, and this includes the time his twin girls were born 13 weeks premature and he didn’t tell anyone at the club, in fear of distracting the team’s focus for that week.

It is obviously working well for him as he has turned himself into one of the Bulldogs’ best and most consistent players.

To all the men playing finals this week, my advice is don’t go over the top with your routine, stick to what you know and certainly don’t go getting any crazy ideas from this column — save your money and your energy for when the ball is bounced! Good luck.