We do it at least once a year and I think it's good to break up the routine a little bit and get out to some regional centres that generally wouldn't see too much of the AFL up close.
We had four groups in all that went off to Finley, Ararat, Yarram and Maryborough. I was in the Yarram group, so I jumped into an eight-seater plane for the trip along with Fev, Kade Simpson, Brad Fisher, Michael Jamison and Bret Thornton.
Juddy led the group that flew up to Finley and even though it's perfectly safe, I heard later that footy manager Shane O'Sullivan was a bit fidgety while we were all up in the air.
Fev's not the best flyer – he even gets bus sick – so he sat up front in the cockpit with the pilot, because that's apparently the best spot if you start to feel a bit green.
It all went off without a hitch and we held clinics at two primary schools up there which were a lot of fun.
When I was in school, Matthew Young from the Saints came and did something similar. I still remember that as clear as day and, after that, I used to keep an eye out for him.
A lot of the kids out there don't know who most of the guys are, but I think they appreciate it when an AFL side travels out to the country to spend a bit of time with them.
We were actually going to drop in to Foster on the way back, but the school there was having an 'Indonesian day' so we were surplus to their plans!
That was okay because we got back a bit earlier than expected, but the day wasn't over yet.
About 15 of the guys took the 'Hyundai Train with the Team' session, which is just a bit of fun with some of the executives from the major sponsor who we're always keen to keep happy.
Everyone had Wednesday morning off after that and it was back to normal for most of the guys in the afternoon, but not me.
Bryce Gibbs, Matthew Kreuzer and I went down to the club for a photo shoot for a magazine spread that's coming out next month.
You can pick the common thread between the three of us and I think the two boys coming after me, also being No. 1 picks, has cost me big time!
I would have been a long way out of doing that sort of stuff if they hadn't come along.
It's a bit of an angle for the press and they all want to give it a run. It was three years ago that I got drafted and I just can't seem to get away from it.
Back in the day I might have done a few sly push-ups before a photo shoot, but not anymore. I didn't even bother putting product in the hair, but Gibbsy these days is the one who's strutting around in the new kit.
He turned up a bit late and had a stack of product in. He reckons he didn't sneak into the gym beforehand, but he did ask the make-up artist for a double dose before he went in front of the camera.
You've got to be careful because the guys are ready to pounce and have a bit of fun at your expense.
Lately we've had a weekly look-alike competition. The best one by far has been Adam Bentick and the lead character from Dexter, the TV show. Have a look if you get the chance because the similarity is freaky.
It's back to business now and we're looking forward to another challenge when we play the Kangaroos this weekend. We've played some good sides in the past month and we're starting to play an exciting brand of footy.
North is a really good side that always plays a tough, uncompromising brand of football.
They've got some excellent in-and-under players and they're pretty even across the ground.
We've got to make sure that we get our share of contested ball and move it quickly into our forward line before they have a chance to drop numbers back.
The end of the season is nearing but there's a slight whiff of finals in the air. Every game from now on is a final for us and we're enjoying being a part of the action at this time of the year.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.
