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I got this article from afl site
New-look Ronnie ready for Darwin
6:33:46 PM Mon 24 February, 2003
Alan Shiell
afl.com.au
Ronnie Burns goes home to Darwin this week, fitter and lighter than he’s ever been as an AFL footballer.
It will be a sentimental journey for the elusive left-footer, who will be making only his fourth appearance in front of his Darwin family and friends since he left to join Geelong in 1996 – after having been virtually a 12-month-a-year footballer for three years with Darwin club St Marys in the (southern) summer and West Perth in the winter.
Burns’ previous three matches in Darwin over the past seven years were for Geelong against Sydney and for the Northern Territory All-Stars against Richmond and Port Adelaide.
Now, two weeks short of his 30th birthday, the veteran of 134 AFL games (239 goals) for the Cats will play for Adelaide against West Coast at Marrara Oval on Friday night in a Wizard Home Loans Cup quarter-final.
He is fully aware of the double-barrelled challenge – confronting the hungry Eagles and Darwin’s notorious humidity.
“They’re going to be a good side, with a good mixture of some older guys and some younger guys,” Burns said of the Eagles.
And the heat?
“Everyone knows Darwin’s a very hot place,” he said. “The humidity’s high up there.
“A lot of people think (Andrew) McLeod and I, having been down south for a long time, will just adapt to it just like that.
“But we’ve got to adapt to it, too. It’s a very hot place. Players have to look after themselves, fluiding up and just looking after their bodies, because you can drop three kilos in a game.
“They’re going to be playing at night but there’s no difference up there – night or day, it’s still hot.
“Hopefully I’ll put a good game in for the family and the locals up there. They love their AFL footy.”
Burns has suddenly become accustomed to losing weight, and he laughs about the experience.
“I think this is the fittest I’ve been,” he said. “It’s the lightest I’ve been – 82 kilos. Over in Geelong I always played around 84.
“I’m starting to cook at home with no shirt on and do my washing with my jocks on.
“Yeah, this is my hardest pre-season. The way they (the Crows) train … they’re very professional over here. The amount of running they do, I was very surprised.
“Over at Geelong, and I think at a lot of Victorian clubs, they do a lot of short stuff. Probably the longest they run is three kilometres.
“But over here they do a lot of running and I think it’s good for me – to get a lot of kilometres in your legs – so I think that’s why I’ve lost a lot of weight. Obviously if you’re lighter, you run quicker and cover more ground.”
Burns said Adelaide coach Gary Ayres wanted him to play a slightly different role than he had been used to as a crumbing, near-goals forward with Geelong.
“Play a half-forward role and a bit more down the midfield, and just sort of float around,” he said of the coach’s instructions. “Yeah, it’s a bit new, but whatever role he gives me I’ll play.
“You’ve got guys like (Chris) Ladhams and (Matthew) Bode there, the small guys kicking goals and doing a really good job, so that takes the pressure off yourself a bit.
“But I’m there to kick goals as well, so hopefully I’ll kick a few this week.”
Burns said he had been “excited” by the Adelaide-Port Adelaide rivalry leading up to and during last Saturday night’s cup match at AAMI Stadium.
“I’m just starting to get used to the (local) showdown,” he said. “It’s all exciting for me as well – the first showdown I’d ever played in. It was very intense and very new to me and (ex-Tiger) Jason Torney. It was very good.
“The build-up … going to the shopping centre down here. I only live around the corner. People were coming up and saying: ‘Are you going to knock off Port?’
“They don’t really worry about the other clubs. They just want to beat Port. Yeah, it was all new to me. Every second person would come up and say: ‘You’ve got to knock off Port?’
“I’d say: ‘What about the other clubs?’”
Asked if he was disappointed about missing the recent ATSIC Chairman’s All-Stars v Carlton match in Darwin, Burns said: “Yes and no. It was my choice.
“I wanted to make the Adelaide Football Club my priority, coming to a new club and doing the right thing by the club. I want to establish myself here before going off and playing in an Aboriginal All-Stars game.”
I don't like this bit, I say let him play his "bread and butter" footy as a goal-sneak out of forward pocket.
New-look Ronnie ready for Darwin
6:33:46 PM Mon 24 February, 2003
Alan Shiell
afl.com.au
Ronnie Burns goes home to Darwin this week, fitter and lighter than he’s ever been as an AFL footballer.
It will be a sentimental journey for the elusive left-footer, who will be making only his fourth appearance in front of his Darwin family and friends since he left to join Geelong in 1996 – after having been virtually a 12-month-a-year footballer for three years with Darwin club St Marys in the (southern) summer and West Perth in the winter.
Burns’ previous three matches in Darwin over the past seven years were for Geelong against Sydney and for the Northern Territory All-Stars against Richmond and Port Adelaide.
Now, two weeks short of his 30th birthday, the veteran of 134 AFL games (239 goals) for the Cats will play for Adelaide against West Coast at Marrara Oval on Friday night in a Wizard Home Loans Cup quarter-final.
He is fully aware of the double-barrelled challenge – confronting the hungry Eagles and Darwin’s notorious humidity.
“They’re going to be a good side, with a good mixture of some older guys and some younger guys,” Burns said of the Eagles.
And the heat?
“Everyone knows Darwin’s a very hot place,” he said. “The humidity’s high up there.
“A lot of people think (Andrew) McLeod and I, having been down south for a long time, will just adapt to it just like that.
“But we’ve got to adapt to it, too. It’s a very hot place. Players have to look after themselves, fluiding up and just looking after their bodies, because you can drop three kilos in a game.
“They’re going to be playing at night but there’s no difference up there – night or day, it’s still hot.
“Hopefully I’ll put a good game in for the family and the locals up there. They love their AFL footy.”
Burns has suddenly become accustomed to losing weight, and he laughs about the experience.
“I think this is the fittest I’ve been,” he said. “It’s the lightest I’ve been – 82 kilos. Over in Geelong I always played around 84.
“I’m starting to cook at home with no shirt on and do my washing with my jocks on.
“Yeah, this is my hardest pre-season. The way they (the Crows) train … they’re very professional over here. The amount of running they do, I was very surprised.
“Over at Geelong, and I think at a lot of Victorian clubs, they do a lot of short stuff. Probably the longest they run is three kilometres.
“But over here they do a lot of running and I think it’s good for me – to get a lot of kilometres in your legs – so I think that’s why I’ve lost a lot of weight. Obviously if you’re lighter, you run quicker and cover more ground.”
Burns said Adelaide coach Gary Ayres wanted him to play a slightly different role than he had been used to as a crumbing, near-goals forward with Geelong.
“Play a half-forward role and a bit more down the midfield, and just sort of float around,” he said of the coach’s instructions. “Yeah, it’s a bit new, but whatever role he gives me I’ll play.
“You’ve got guys like (Chris) Ladhams and (Matthew) Bode there, the small guys kicking goals and doing a really good job, so that takes the pressure off yourself a bit.
“But I’m there to kick goals as well, so hopefully I’ll kick a few this week.”
Burns said he had been “excited” by the Adelaide-Port Adelaide rivalry leading up to and during last Saturday night’s cup match at AAMI Stadium.
“I’m just starting to get used to the (local) showdown,” he said. “It’s all exciting for me as well – the first showdown I’d ever played in. It was very intense and very new to me and (ex-Tiger) Jason Torney. It was very good.
“The build-up … going to the shopping centre down here. I only live around the corner. People were coming up and saying: ‘Are you going to knock off Port?’
“They don’t really worry about the other clubs. They just want to beat Port. Yeah, it was all new to me. Every second person would come up and say: ‘You’ve got to knock off Port?’
“I’d say: ‘What about the other clubs?’”
Asked if he was disappointed about missing the recent ATSIC Chairman’s All-Stars v Carlton match in Darwin, Burns said: “Yes and no. It was my choice.
“I wanted to make the Adelaide Football Club my priority, coming to a new club and doing the right thing by the club. I want to establish myself here before going off and playing in an Aboriginal All-Stars game.”
I don't like this bit, I say let him play his "bread and butter" footy as a goal-sneak out of forward pocket.
