The Sydney Swans landed in Coffs Harbour on Tuesday afternoon to commence a four day pre-season training camp.
While the weather hasn't been kind to Coffs in recent days, Swans midfielder Ben McGlynn said the players have been looking forward to the trip for a while.
“We’ve been coming up here for the past three years, we’ve got a good relationship with Coffs Harbour now,” McGlynn said.
“The boys really enjoy getting up here and getting away from our environment in Sydney and changing it up a bit by coming up here as a group.”
The Swans arrived at a wet Coffs Harbour airport to commence their pre-season training camp.
It won’t be much of a holiday for the team, with the players taking part in a modified intra-club match at C.ex International Stadium on Wednesday.
They’ll round out the day with a hit of golf at Bonville before getting out and about Coffs Harbour the following day.
“Thursday we’ve got clinics and academy training and some of the guys are going out for a chamber business lunch, so the boys are doing a bit of community work as well as training so the boys are looking forward to it,” he said.
“New South Wales is not a predominant AFL state so it’s good to spread the code and get up here.
“Coffs Harbour has a big AFL supporter base so it’s good to get out and give back to the community.”
While pre-season training has been as tough as ever, McGlynn said he's been impressed with the efforts of all players so far, in particular the younger brigade.
“We’ve had a good summer so far, the young boys have stepped the pace up coming back and have put a bit of pressure on the older guys and we’re really enjoying a hard, pre-season so far but we’ve still got a long way to go,” he said.
The players headed to the beach for a recovery session after checking in to the Novotel Pacific Bay Resort.
The Swans will be returning to Coffs Harbour in a month’s time for their first match of the NAB Challenge series against the Brisbane Lions.
After spending the summer months sweating it out on the training track, McGlynn said everyone will be itching to get into playing again.
“The boys are pretty keen to get into some games, we’ve got a four quarter practice match up here and then we’re looking forward to getting into the NAB Challenge,” he said.
“It’s a long off-season, you just want to get into some games, and that’s going to be a good challenge for us (the first NAB Challenge game in Coffs Harbour) and the boys are looking forward to it.”
