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Collingwood will go as far as testing players' urine to ensure the extreme heat and humidity of Darwin doesn't cause long-term physical damage during tomorrow night's Wizard Cup quarter-final against West Coast.
Football operations manager Neil Balme said the sport continued to refine and improve in the area of player welfare and such tests would become par for the course in the steamy Northern Territory conditions.
"There is no doubt it can affect you if you don't look after them," Balme said.
"We will have our sports scientists around, we'll be doing all the tests on how much fluid they've got in them. We will do quite a few different tests to make sure they are OK.
"We'll be doing a waste in and out, we'll do specific gravity tests on their urine to see how they are before and after the game and see if you have to intervene or whether you can just feed them up with fluid.
"We are really taking that very seriously. We do some of it already (in home-and-away season matches) but up there, it is much more important.
"We shouldn't be too bad if we do everything right."
Balme said the Pies had not forgotten a hot match in Darwin during the 1990s against West Coast that adversely affected players.
"That game was during the day," Balme said. "This one is at night, which makes it better, but that game really knocked them around for a while.
"It was very significant and I think everyone learned a fair bit from it."
But he said the club was confident it had the bases covered this weekend.
"There is a cool room right next to the bench, which we'll certainly be using," Balme said. "We'll have our ice vests if we need them, fans and that sort of stuff as well.
"And because we got the extra two players on the interchange bench, there will be a plan to make sure we use the players as much as we can so they don't have to run too hard for too long."
Collingwood will leave gun forward Chris Tarrant at home but Balme said he was likely to play the following week.
"He is not too bad. He has got a little bit of a groin problem but it's just not worth taking him up there," Balme said.
"He is all right, it is minor. He'll be right."
Balme said the Pies would showcase new players Travis Cloke, David Fanning, Chris Egan and Zane Leonard.
"Every time we play, we want to put on a good performance," Balme said.
"I guess that is balanced by the fact that you've got to go to Darwin and it is Wizard Cup and not a real game but we'll be keen to do well."
"There is a cool room right next to the bench, which we'll certainly be using," Balme said. "We'll have our ice vests if we need them, fans and that sort of stuff as well.
- West Australian
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If they are taking fans I'll go anyone else want to come ??
Let all your troubles be forgot for we are Collingwood. We'll fight it out until the end we're Collingwood. So help me Jock.
Two pies and two beers thanks!!
35forever wrote:PS: Who are the 'serial duds' referred to above? (I ask because I dont know, not because I disagree). Also, Johnno, do you do a preview every week? If so do you send it to a mailing list? Count me in if you do. Good stuff!
Serial duds? Loka, Williams, O'Bree...if you ask me. Opinions differ on this one 35.
As for a mailing list, no, but check this site.
www.magpies.net/nick/ for all your Magpies news and views. It includes all previews and reviews from this year and last year. Thanks for your interest.
3rd degree wrote:"Rhyce is a champion my friend and Rhyce will be fighting to the end!"
Rhyce will
Rhyce will
ROCK YOU !!
Let all your troubles be forgot for we are Collingwood. We'll fight it out until the end we're Collingwood. So help me Jock.
Two pies and two beers thanks!!
Glory Glory Good Old Collingwood, Glory Glory Hallelujah,
Collingwood's The Greatest Team The World Has Ever Seen,
And The 'Pies Go Marching On (in Black and White Stripes Forever!).
I love doing it, and its a pleasure to do so.