We have the weekend off this Saturday and Sunday – our only two-day break for the next 13 weeks – and I can tell you it is greatly appreciated. You feel a bit like being in the eye of a storm at the moment.
We’ve had a constant five months of low to medium build up, but the pressure is on from the moment we get back to training on Monday morning. Pressure is something an AFL footballer has to deal with every day.
I know we’re not like doctors, nurses or our servicemen overseas, who work in life and death situations every day, but the pressure still can be suffocating if you let it get to you.
When we run out against Geelong, there will be 27,000 sets of eyes watching and dissecting our every move, not to mention about a million people around the country analysing us on TV.
And winning is everything. Win and you handle the rehabilitation of your sore points and training regimen of the next week with a quiet satisfaction. Lose and you are angry on yourself and the world for days.
AFL football clubs are a $30 million-plus operation these days, and every win counts to sponsors and supporters. And as a sportsperson fortunate enough to be playing at the elite level, you generally have high expectations of yourself.
It all builds pressure. Even in the off season, you can often be confronted with fairly pressurised situations. I have never been under the pump with being talked about in the media as a potential trade prospect to another club, but one of the more difficult things I have had to deal with was deciding whether to stay with the Lions or return to my native Victoria – where I have a very close family – when I was out of contract last spring.
I’m very happy with my decision to stay now, but it felt like I had the world on my shoulders six months ago. So I will really enjoy the time off just to relax this weekend before all hell breaks loose again…but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
