RussellEbertHandball
Flick pass expert
With the Grand Final in Brisbane, and potential other finals we might play there if things don't go to plan, and the Monday night game against Collingwood at the Gabba, it's time to get ready now for that Brisbane humidity.
The humidity on the Gold Coast was 79% for last Saturday night's game against North and last night was 83% before it started to rain. It won't get much better over the next 6 weeks.
Simon Black has come out and backed up that its not going to be great conditions for finals and the GF in October.
My meteorologist mate Weatherchap told me, in October Brisbane's average temperature and humidity at 3pm is 25 degrees and 53% relative humidity and the humidity only gets worse at night time.
So lets train at night time from now on, let's turn the sprinklers on so we get used to slippery footys, buy plenty of wrist bands - big thick ones Ivan Lendl style, and buy plenty of bottles of grippo.
We seem to struggle with fumbles and bumbles of the yellow ball when conditions are fine, so let's get ready for these crappy conditions.
I have lived in SE Qld for 2 x 2 year stints over mid 90's and mid 00's and the humidity starts to kick in at night around August and at day time in September.
Between 1996 and 2009 Brisbane played 12 finals at the Gabba and won all 12. Weather/humidity against the SA and Vic sides in all those finals played its part. Sydney and the WA sides hadn't played a final at the Gabba by 2009.
Yes Richmond managed to beat them last year, but it was a battle hardened finalists vs a young side where only 3 or 4 players had played finals, s**t kicking for goal in the first half didn't help the young Lions. Then GWS beat them in the SF, just, but Sydney humidity in September is closer to Brisbane's than Melbourne's and Adelaide's.
I went to the 2 finals we have played there in 2001 QF and 2002 PF. 2001 I wore shorts and was sweating and our players looked stuffed at half time even though they were up 7.1 to 3.9. But Brisbane were smart and had inserted the nibs for intravenous saline drips in their arms and had them heavily bandaged up, so they could rehydrate at half time. We got smashed in the second half. The AFL banned this "medical practice" but similar thing happen in 2002 PF, we just ran out of gas after mid way in the 3rd quarter and lost by 9 goals, just 3 weeks after that great Rd 22 game at Footy Park.
When I moved back to Sydney in 2005 I would go and watch Port games in Brisbane to catch up with mates and sister on the GC and saw the next 3 or 4 games. They were usually played in August at night time, it was hot, humid and shorts weather.
That night 22nd August 2009 Rd 21, where we kicked 10.0 to 3.2 in the 1st quarter, I knew we would lose at quarter time, not because it was just Port's way at the time but 1) we have never kicked 10.0 in a quarter, before or since, and knew we would start racking up the points - we kicked 4.8 in the other 3 quarters, 2) everything went right for us, 3) the Lions didn't play well, the wheel would turn quickly and 4) I knew the humidity would kick in and fatigue our players ( The Falloon fitness days) and affect our skills. It was another hot sticky night and shorts weather.
I walked across the ground with my mate after the game to get to his car. It was the first time I had ever walked on the Gabba turf and I just couldn't believe how wet the ground was. The humidity had made the grass as wet as putting a sprinkler on it for 20 minutes.
So lets get smart and prepare for these conditions. Simulate the uncomfortable conditions as much as possible during training and use materials to help mitigate the conditions.
The other interesting thing to consider if we win the QF and PF, or lose the QF and win the SF, do we move up to the hub resort straight away to acclimatize for 4 or 5 days, rather than fly up the day before or 2 days before for the GF??
The humidity on the Gold Coast was 79% for last Saturday night's game against North and last night was 83% before it started to rain. It won't get much better over the next 6 weeks.
Simon Black has come out and backed up that its not going to be great conditions for finals and the GF in October.
My meteorologist mate Weatherchap told me, in October Brisbane's average temperature and humidity at 3pm is 25 degrees and 53% relative humidity and the humidity only gets worse at night time.
So lets train at night time from now on, let's turn the sprinklers on so we get used to slippery footys, buy plenty of wrist bands - big thick ones Ivan Lendl style, and buy plenty of bottles of grippo.
We seem to struggle with fumbles and bumbles of the yellow ball when conditions are fine, so let's get ready for these crappy conditions.
I have lived in SE Qld for 2 x 2 year stints over mid 90's and mid 00's and the humidity starts to kick in at night around August and at day time in September.
Between 1996 and 2009 Brisbane played 12 finals at the Gabba and won all 12. Weather/humidity against the SA and Vic sides in all those finals played its part. Sydney and the WA sides hadn't played a final at the Gabba by 2009.
Yes Richmond managed to beat them last year, but it was a battle hardened finalists vs a young side where only 3 or 4 players had played finals, s**t kicking for goal in the first half didn't help the young Lions. Then GWS beat them in the SF, just, but Sydney humidity in September is closer to Brisbane's than Melbourne's and Adelaide's.
I went to the 2 finals we have played there in 2001 QF and 2002 PF. 2001 I wore shorts and was sweating and our players looked stuffed at half time even though they were up 7.1 to 3.9. But Brisbane were smart and had inserted the nibs for intravenous saline drips in their arms and had them heavily bandaged up, so they could rehydrate at half time. We got smashed in the second half. The AFL banned this "medical practice" but similar thing happen in 2002 PF, we just ran out of gas after mid way in the 3rd quarter and lost by 9 goals, just 3 weeks after that great Rd 22 game at Footy Park.
When I moved back to Sydney in 2005 I would go and watch Port games in Brisbane to catch up with mates and sister on the GC and saw the next 3 or 4 games. They were usually played in August at night time, it was hot, humid and shorts weather.
That night 22nd August 2009 Rd 21, where we kicked 10.0 to 3.2 in the 1st quarter, I knew we would lose at quarter time, not because it was just Port's way at the time but 1) we have never kicked 10.0 in a quarter, before or since, and knew we would start racking up the points - we kicked 4.8 in the other 3 quarters, 2) everything went right for us, 3) the Lions didn't play well, the wheel would turn quickly and 4) I knew the humidity would kick in and fatigue our players ( The Falloon fitness days) and affect our skills. It was another hot sticky night and shorts weather.
I walked across the ground with my mate after the game to get to his car. It was the first time I had ever walked on the Gabba turf and I just couldn't believe how wet the ground was. The humidity had made the grass as wet as putting a sprinkler on it for 20 minutes.
So lets get smart and prepare for these conditions. Simulate the uncomfortable conditions as much as possible during training and use materials to help mitigate the conditions.
The other interesting thing to consider if we win the QF and PF, or lose the QF and win the SF, do we move up to the hub resort straight away to acclimatize for 4 or 5 days, rather than fly up the day before or 2 days before for the GF??
