North Shore AFC recently caught up with Bomber’s Reed Van Huisstede and Pierce Roseby who experienced probably what would be every player and supporters dream: Travelling as part of the Swans playing group during the latter part of the season.
How did the opportunity come about?
PR I initially left Sydney before the lockdown started in hope to be able travel up to QLD to play in the first Allies game for the U19 National Championships. I was able to stay at my Mum’s friends in the Hunter Valley.
The first Allies Game in the U19 Championships was cancelled, however as I was out of greater Sydney for 14 days I was able to travel down to Melbourne to play in the Sydney Swans VFL team
RVH I was lucky to be able to get out of Sydney in the first place at the time when lockdown was announced and get home to Newcastle where I did my 2 weeks of iso and then was fortunate enough that the Swans asked me to fly down to Melbourne to play a VFL game with the Swans against Footscray.
After the VFL game I was staying with some family friends and the Swans said I could continue to play and train with them down in Melbourne if I stayed. I agreed because the opportunity would be amazing. Later that week I got a phone call at 10:45 at night from the Swans saying we as a team are going to Brisbane at 6am in the morning and we would love it if you could come with us. So from there I packed my bags and jetted off, and I got to experience what it was like living, training and playing while in the hub with the Swans.
How long where you away for?
PR All up I was away for eight weeks with the Swans. Once we left Melbourne, we were located on the Gold Coast for two weeks before returning back to Melbourne for the remainder of the trip.
RVH All up I was away for 7 and half weeks. Starting in Melbourne, then moving to Gold Coast for 2 weeks then we frantically moved back to Melbourne again for the remainder of my time with them.
What was the experience like?
RVH I learnt so many things while away regarding preparation for games, ins and outs of training, seeing how the best players prepare and train every session, weekly vision sessions with coaches and I was able to see what goes on behind the scenes. It was absolutely amazing and I’ll never forget the experience.
What were some of the day-to-day activities?
PR Most weeks we started with a light recovery session, then two main skills sessions during the week and a captains run the day before the game. Strength training, recovery and team meetings followed all these sessions. On training days, we were pretty busy, but on our days off, I was able to get a lot of my uni work done. At the Gold Coast we also played a lot of Golf as we were staying at a Golf Resort. In Melbourne we were a bit more restricted with activities we could do outside of training, however we had an elite game’s room setup, which kept us all entertained.
RVH Training took up 3-4 days and then we had free time after that, although we were under pretty strict protocols Covid wise. There was a lot of Golf happening up in Gold Coast as we stayed on a golf course along with ping pong and the pool table getting a workout both in Gold Coast and Melbourne.
What was game day like with the seniors?
RVH Game day was relatively cruisey, all the boys would do their own thing. Some walked, went swimming or just chilled out. But the lead up to game day was super interesting especially when it was coming to the pointy end of the season which made match reviews and team meetings more intense and seeing how much work goes into preparing for the team ahead each week.
PR All the players are pretty relaxed before a game; each has their own routine, which they go through. The energy and atmosphere in the change rooms after the senior’s win is unbelievable.
What about Reserves games?
RVH The VFL games were mostly just unofficial practice matches because of Covid messing up the season, but still played at a really high intensity and were good for my development. Pierce and I played an official VFL game for Essendon one of the weeks, which was a great opportunity to experience another team’s preparation and to meet new people, was awesome.
PR Most of the games while away were unofficial VFL games due to the lockdown in Melbourne. These unofficial games were still played at a really high intensity and it was nice to come away with some really good wins. At the Gold Coast, during a bye weekend for the Swans VFL team, Reed and I were able to top up for Essendon VFL and play alongside Alex Rance, which was also an amazing experience.
How were the coaches, what interaction with them?
PR The Swans have such an experienced coaching team who all provided great feedback advice throughout the trip. Jeremy Laidler the VFL and development coach was fantastic. He created awesome energy and culture on game day, and provided me great feedback during the week when reviewing game day vision, which was awesome for football development and knowledge. The football staff were also extremely welcoming and did an amazing job managing the tough logistics that Covid threw at them.
RVH The coaches were super, I did multiple vision sessions with them and they got us involved as much as possible in all aspects of the trip away.
What sort of interaction do you have with the seniors?
RVH Obviously I got to spend a lot of time with the team and got to know the whole team really well. We were with the whole squad on a day-to-day basis, we all trained together, had meals together and hung out in the games room of the hotel.
PR Over my time away I was able to form some really good relationships with players. It was amazing to learn from some of the best players in the AFL and first hand see their training habits and professionalism during the week in preparation for games.
Who was your favourite player?
RVH Justin McInerney, exciting young player and a great bloke off the field. Dane Rampe, also a legend of a bloke and to see the amount of work he does behind the scenes sort of makes sense why he has been at the top these last few years.
Biggest Pest?
RVH Nick Blakey, he is the leading jokester and pushes everyone’s buttons every now and then.
