Fan, member and long-time pre-season camp attendee Andrew Sloman is back with his daily observations as Pre-Season Camp 2023 gets underway. “Slowy” first attended Camp in Arizona in 2011, and this year’s camp is his seventh and first since 2020.

G’Day Tiger Army. It’s great to be back on Camp after the Covid hiatus, and I’d like to start by thanking the Football Department, Dimma, Tim Livingstone and the playing group for having us back!

So it was with great excitement and anticipation that we attended Punt Road at 7.30am sharp on Day 1. Yes the discipline of meetings starting either early or on time has not changed! Full team meetings in the Graeme Richmond Room are always a sight and experience if you don’t get to attend them regularly. The decorations around the room reflecting on club history, values and success seem to resonate even more so when full teams are sitting within its walls. Dimma kicked the meeting off with an outline of the morning’s activities, then asked me to come down the front and introduce the other camp attendees returning after the Covid hiatus. A small lump in the throat developed, but the group were very welcoming. Xavier Clarke then ran through the football program for the next two hours. Warm up, drills and then match simulation was the running order. Match simulation with AFL field and boundary umpires! Some semblance of real footy in January!

We then broke into Line Group meetings in preparation for the match simulation. I attended the Midfield Group meeting run by Andrew “Mini” McQualter. For a lay person fan, what strikes you is the technicality of these meetings, and the midfielders do have highly-structured roles. Set ups for stoppages, offensive and defensive structures and positioning are discussed. Truly Richmond code words for scenarios and structures fly around in discussions. Concepts are reinforced with regular questions asked of the players, and feedback sought. These line meetings are always interesting.

Warm up drills then match simulation followed. It was a close tussle between the Black and White teams. The margin was less than a goal. There was some controversy towards the end when Liam Baker thought the clock on the Punt Road scoreboard failed to stop when the umpire had whistled time off. Dimma laughed that suggestion off and joked that he couldn’t believe that Liam had noticed!

Warm down, recovery and lunch then followed. After lunch, we formed groups and headed out on a History Tour of Richmond. A theme for this year is to understand the history of the suburb of Richmond, it’s people and characteristics, and the importance of the Club to the community. The Club was formed in the suburb in 1885 and, yes, it has broadened to now be representative of a community that is far broader than the boundaries of the postcode 3121, but it’s important to understand the journey and history of the suburb. Our past informs our journey forward. So we visited historical stops reflecting the history and character of Richmond. And special guests were present at each stop to explain the significance. Mick Thomas of the band Wedding, Parties, Anything was at the Corner Hotel and explained the music and general creative arts scene that has been such a part of Richmond. On top of the old AKM Woollen Mill building near Richmond Station, we had a presentation about the industry and manufacturing history of Richmond. Club Historian Rhett Bartlett was stationed in the Parlour Room of the Royal Hotel, the venue where the Club was formed. And Saint Francis Bourke was at the London Tavern and outlined the social fabric of the Club and how it has been interwoven with life in Richmond through the years. A truly amazing experience to listen to these stories.

After that, we then headed to Apollo Bay and our base for the next three days. The Apollo Bay Football and Cricket Club very kindly hosted us for dinner. We then ventured down the road to the Apollo Bay Bowling Club, where Dimma gave his Season 2023 scene setting speech. The speech never fails to make the hairs on the back of your next stand up and a tear well in your eye. Expectations are outlined. Core values set and reinforced with emotive imagery. Questions asked and concepts reinforced. This speech is always a camp highlight.

Anyways, time to rest after a busy day. Some very serious physical work starts tomorrow!