PEEL THUNDER UNDER 16S MELBOURNE TRIP

PEEL THUNDER UNDER 16S TRIP

Over the past week the Peel Thunder Under 16s have completed their inaugural trip to Melbourne. In a jam-packed 5 days, the boys got to experience a great footy weekend. See below for more detail on the trip

Thursday 9/7/15

All players and parents met at Perth airport at 4:30am ready for the journey east to Melbourne. After viewing a few movies on the plane, the group arrived in Melbourne and headed to the accommodation at Mercure Welcome Inn, right in the middle of the CBD.

After checking in the group was off to the MCG for a tour of the ground and the National Sports Museum. A number of players within the group were having their first visit to the MCG and the looks on the boys faces as they entered the ground were something to see. The boys split into 2 groups for the tour and were given access to the playing arena, media boxes, the change rooms, the members area, the long room and were excellently led by MCC staff. Following the tour the boys were shown through the National Sports Museum and threw themselves into the Game On section with the netball exhibition quickly turning into a basketball shootout!

The group then went to dinner at Mercadantes on Lygon St, the boys soaked up the atmosphere of Carlton and enjoyed a feast of pizzas, pasta, salads and also had the opportunity to sample the Mercadantes famous chocolate pizza for dessert. A huge thanks to Carlos at Mercadantes for the food and the fantastic hospitality!

Friday 10/7/15

The group caught the tram to Southern Cross station and walked over the footbridge for a tour of Etihad Stadium. Again the players had the opportunity to go through the media boxes, the AFL coaches boxes, sit in the corporate seating, see the Channel 7 studio, visit the media room which doubles as the AFL tribunal room, and look through the North Melbourne rooms. The group was lucky enough to also sit in the Etihad corporate box, and gained an understanding of the business deals that occur whilst AFL games are happening on the field!

After this the group headed to the opposite side of the city for a tour of the Collingwood Football Club and the Westpac Centre. The boys got to see the players weights rooms, offices, the altitude room, warm up areas, vision viewing areas, and the boys were lucky enough to be able to hold the 2010 AFL premiership cup.

Friday night saw the boys head off for the first game of the weekend to the MCG for the Carlton vs Richmond clash and the boys enjoyed the atmosphere of Friday night footy as part of a crowd of 52,500.

Saturday 11/7/15

The group was joined by the 4 player state under 16 contingent who arrived from the Gold Coast late on Friday night. After some free time in the morning, the group headed back to the MCG to watch the Melbourne vs Essendon clash, followed by a trip to Etihad to watch the North Melbourne vs Geelong game. Both games allowed the boys the opportunity to see some elite players run around and players were given AFL players to observe during the games. The two games were both physical contests and the boys got a great view at Etihad on the running patterns and way AFL sides move around the ground.

Sunday 12/7/15

The boys were up early for breakfast and boarded the Bendigo Coachlines bus for the trip out to Bendigo to take on the Bendigo Pioneers Under 16s. The boys arrived at Golden Square football club and were greeted by extremely cold conditions! The game commenced and the Bendigo boys adapted to the conditions well, kicking 8 goals to 0 in the first quarter. Once the Peel boys settled into the match we were super competitive and extremely hard at the contest. The last 3 quarters saw Bendigo kick 4 goals to Peels 3 to run out winners 12-13-85 to 3-8-26. The standard of footy and spirit in which the game was played was outstanding given the rain and temperature and the boys certainly enjoyed getting upstairs to the clubrooms and having a feed at the aftermatch function. 

A massive thank you to the Bendigo Pioneers for organising the day and the aftermatch function. It was a great experience for the Peel boys and was fantastic that the boys fought the game out and showed real spirit over the course of the game.

The boys arrived back in Melbourne and headed off to dinner at TGI Fridays at Melbourne Central. The boys demolished the food and the parents couldn’t speak any more highly of the service and friendly nature of the staff. A huge thanks to George and Scott at TGIs Melbourne Central for their hospitality and organisation of the night. After dinner the boys took the opportunity to see Ted 2 at the movies before returning to bed before the flight home on Monday.

The trip was hugely successful and hopefully has given the group an insight into the life of an elite footballer. Thanks must go to the boys for being so well behaved and professional in their approach to the trip, all player sponsors who contributed towards the trip, all parents who attended and provided supervision and organisation, Jacquie Dean at Hello World Travel Mandurah for organising the accommodation, flights and transfers, the Peel Thunder Past Players and Officials Association for their support of the trip, Adam Shine for running in the cold at Bendigo, and head coach Steve Thomas for his work through the program and on game day at Bendigo.

The group will now begin transitioning into the colts program over the remainder of the year and we hope to see them in the Thunder colours for years to come.