Birds are frolicking in the trees outside the tents, some of the wildlife, including frogs, have made it inside the accommodation and seem intent on telling their mates they have found nirvana. They chat incessantly, having found a respite from the heat and potential predators.
One by one, West Coast players dressed for battle, clip clop along the boardwalk for the scheduled 5.45am rendezvous at the marshalling area, just outside the resort’s main office. They are in shorts and singlets, in the main.
This is a resort with a difference. The tents are not your weekend two-man variety where you roll your swag on a dirt floor and do your best to doze off for an hour or so. No, these are your penthouse variety.
Perched on a wooden platform about half a metre off the steaming, dirty sands of the hills, they have their own bathroom, of sorts, a generously sized bed and, most importantly, a pedestal fan!
It is fiercely hot and without some creature comforts it would be tough.
After bunking down, having enjoyed an exquisite barbecue on the beach the previous evening, the players have arisen and know that after a “soft” introduction upon their arrival last night, the physical tests now begin.
They wander down a sand track to a golden beach, the tranquillity and splendour of which will soon be lost as sweat stings their eyes and tarnishes their vision. Their calves will scream as their feet constantly sink into the soft terrain and their arms will feel like lead weights.
For the next hour, they will don boxing gloves, tackle each other in full-scale drills up the beach, they will run and they will be asked to work in unison, on all fours, to propel a 30-metre rope up towards the dunes.
Different coaches offer variety of voice. By taking charge of different drills, they encourage players to push themselves. And when they are exhausted, they are encouraged to find more.
While this idyllic location looks like a wonderful holiday retreat, that will not be the image burned into the minds of the West Coast squad when they decamp in a few days from now.
They will, of course, have their moments for fun activities, like fishing and other wildlife experiences, but this is about preparing in earnest for an assault on 2012. And they are determined to do the work required to go better than their fourth standing in 2011.
Click here to see the boys in action on Eco Beach.
