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Melbourne's big Chunk of change
18 January 2007 Herald-Sun
Rebecca Williams
MELBOURNE'S Nathan Jones has dropped 7kg during the pre-season, but there's one lingering reference to his weight that just won't budge.
"I still get called 'Chunk'," Jones said yesterday. "They called me that when I first got to the club. It has just stuck."
Despite the nickname from his teammates, Jones is sporting a toned-down physique after stepping up his diet and fitness regime this summer.
The midfielder, 19, has cut his playing weight from a high of about 87kg to a trim 80kg.
Jones, who played eight games in his debut season for the Demons last year, watched his diet and kept up his fitness during his Christmas break with running, surfing and yoga.
The 179cm Jones admitted he had become too top-heavy after hitting the weights.
"I weighed too heavy at the end of last year, so they asked me to lose some weight," Jones said. "I have lost 7kg so far. I was way too heavy for how tall I was.
"I have probably sacrificed a bit of strength because I did a lot of weights last year and that just bulked me up.
"It wasn't so much fat, it was just dropping muscle to get to a reasonable weight."
Jones paid tribute to Melbourne's new fitness advisor Bohdan Babijczuk.
"He is a cut above the rest," he said. "The experiences he has had with the Boomers (basketball), and with Hawthorn and as an athletics coach, he just knows so much and can help so much."
Jones said his weight loss was part of a pact by Melbourne's midfield group to join the competition's elite.
"We've also got a new midfield coach, Paul Williams, and we've all said that we want to reach the top," Jones said.
"We've based our games on Sydney, West Coast and Adelaide. Their midfields are at the peak of their game, and that's where we've got to get to.
"We've all been trying to work really hard to become a hard-running midfield that's strong and tough in-and-under."
Another Melbourne midfielder, Clint Bartram, has stepped up pre-season training this week after recovering from ankle surgery.
The 18-year-old from Ocean Grove played every match of the home-and-away season in a faultless debut year for the Demons before an ankle injury in Round 22 ruled him out of the finals.
"I had my first skills session this week, so now I've just got to work on getting my base level of fitness back," Bartram said. "They think I'm a bit ahead of schedule, which is good. Hopefully I should be back by Round 1, up and firing again."
Jones and Bartram took a break from pre-season training yesterday to attend the annual Berry St Victoria foster care camp at Anglesea.
The pair held a football clinic and other sporting activities with the children in their two days at the camp, which this year celebrates its 20th anniversary.
"It's pretty exciting to be down here with the kids and to help them out," Jones said. "A lot of them have been through some pretty rough times."
So I guess it's Chunk. It's got a ring to it...I like Chunky, it's all good
18 January 2007 Herald-Sun
Rebecca Williams
MELBOURNE'S Nathan Jones has dropped 7kg during the pre-season, but there's one lingering reference to his weight that just won't budge.
"I still get called 'Chunk'," Jones said yesterday. "They called me that when I first got to the club. It has just stuck."
Despite the nickname from his teammates, Jones is sporting a toned-down physique after stepping up his diet and fitness regime this summer.
The midfielder, 19, has cut his playing weight from a high of about 87kg to a trim 80kg.
Jones, who played eight games in his debut season for the Demons last year, watched his diet and kept up his fitness during his Christmas break with running, surfing and yoga.
The 179cm Jones admitted he had become too top-heavy after hitting the weights.
"I weighed too heavy at the end of last year, so they asked me to lose some weight," Jones said. "I have lost 7kg so far. I was way too heavy for how tall I was.
"I have probably sacrificed a bit of strength because I did a lot of weights last year and that just bulked me up.
"It wasn't so much fat, it was just dropping muscle to get to a reasonable weight."
Jones paid tribute to Melbourne's new fitness advisor Bohdan Babijczuk.
"He is a cut above the rest," he said. "The experiences he has had with the Boomers (basketball), and with Hawthorn and as an athletics coach, he just knows so much and can help so much."
Jones said his weight loss was part of a pact by Melbourne's midfield group to join the competition's elite.
"We've also got a new midfield coach, Paul Williams, and we've all said that we want to reach the top," Jones said.
"We've based our games on Sydney, West Coast and Adelaide. Their midfields are at the peak of their game, and that's where we've got to get to.
"We've all been trying to work really hard to become a hard-running midfield that's strong and tough in-and-under."
Another Melbourne midfielder, Clint Bartram, has stepped up pre-season training this week after recovering from ankle surgery.
The 18-year-old from Ocean Grove played every match of the home-and-away season in a faultless debut year for the Demons before an ankle injury in Round 22 ruled him out of the finals.
"I had my first skills session this week, so now I've just got to work on getting my base level of fitness back," Bartram said. "They think I'm a bit ahead of schedule, which is good. Hopefully I should be back by Round 1, up and firing again."
Jones and Bartram took a break from pre-season training yesterday to attend the annual Berry St Victoria foster care camp at Anglesea.
The pair held a football clinic and other sporting activities with the children in their two days at the camp, which this year celebrates its 20th anniversary.
"It's pretty exciting to be down here with the kids and to help them out," Jones said. "A lot of them have been through some pretty rough times."
So I guess it's Chunk. It's got a ring to it...I like Chunky, it's all good
