Kieren’s Blog
By Kieren Jack
Interstate travel is part of the job of an AFL footballer and being a Sydney team we usually travel every second week.
The Swans always travel the day before a game and we like to get down there early afternoon because we generally go for a bit of a walk and a kick and a jog around an oval or if we can get onto the ground we can do a bit of a light session there.
Then it’s all about recovery and we don’t really have a lot of down time. We have a structured dinner, structured meal and there’s massages and physio if you need it.
We have dinner as a team and a lot of the players are very much the same, they like to eat pretty specific stuff, so a lot of carbs, spag bol, rice dishes, risotto and things like that. From there, sometimes we have a chat after dinner or some of the boys like to go out for a walk but it’s very casual and low-key.
You try to keep the routine as close to playing a home game as possible but it’s hard – it’s a different room and a different bed but throughout the years you try and keep it very much like as if you are at home.
I was talking to Jed Lamb after his first game interstate against the Hawks and he sort of struggled to sleep on the night before the game. I remember my first game interstate and it was the same thing – it’s hard to sleep, you’re nervous and things just keep going through your mind.
On game day we like to go for a walk as a team and then do some recovery, we do some light stretching after breakfast and then it’s just time off before the game. I might sometimes go and watch a movie if we play at night and some of the boys like to have a sleep in the afternoon.
While travelling just becomes part of the job, I do really enjoy travelling down with my mates. There’s always a bit of fun that goes down there too. We’re there to play a football game obviously but the boys like having a laugh and a bit of a joke on the plane, and they might stitch a few boys up here and there which is where Twitter sometimes gets a bit of a run!
An interstate win is always memorable too – some of the best wins I’ve had are interstate and it brings the group together even more.
One of the bad things about travelling though is the early flights. A lot of the boys have a pretty sleepless night after a night game as it is and then we’re up pretty early and have to fly back home. You can tell the younger boys who don’t get a lot of sleep – Lewis Jetta gets a bit angry and Dan Hannebery gets a big angry if he hasn’t had enough sleep too.
Hanners is also the worst teammate to travel with; he’s a pest full stop. He doesn’t shut up and doesn’t leave you alone. Another one who is a bit under the radar is Heath Grundy, he quite likes his Twitter page and gets pictures of the boys sleeping on the plane and puts that online so that annoys a few of the boys. Adam Goodes is a snorer but luckily we sleep in separate rooms now – Jude Bolton was telling me that when they used to share rooms Goodsey was a shocking snorer.
I enjoy most of the states we travel to, it’s something different. I really enjoy Perth, it’s a really nice city. Heading to New Zealand was something different but it was great, we were really well-received and it was a lot of fun. We spent three or four days there so it was good to get out and see a bit of the Wellington life and there were some good cafes there too so the boys really enjoyed that!