Smith, who joined Richmond from Hawthorn at the end of the 2011 season, completed Kokoda twice, as well as a hike through New Zealand, while he was with the Hawks.
"I think it is really important for teams to get away as a group for a period of time," Smith said.
"Time together helps create unity and you learn a lot about each other - things that you wouldn't necessarily learn during interstate trips in-season.
"It is also a great chance for the players that have just recently joined the Club to get to know those guys around them."
Members of the Club’s coaching staff will head to New York later this week to meet with a number of elite organisations, including the New York Giants and New York Knicks.
"The players and coaches have also got the chance to have a good look at some highly-professional organisations and how they do things. You pick up things up that can only help us get better," Smith said.
The playing group finished their stint at the University of Arizona with a skills session at the baseball stadium, followed by an arduous session in the swimming pool.
"Every day has been pretty full on," Smith said.
"It has been an enormous volume of work for them, but they have handled it well . . .”
The Tigers are now in Phoenix, spending time with partner organisation Athlete's Performance. The group saw the Phoenix Coyotes (ice hockey) in action on Saturday night and will watch the Arizona Cardinals play the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL on Sunday.blog comments powered by Disqus
