Hard work pays off for the Heat

Northern Heat players have done the hard yards over the Christmas and new year period, with excellent fitness testing results recorded at Saturday’s training session.

Having been provided with a strength and conditioning program by Heat coach and former Sydney Swans staffer Matt Pine, the players knuckled down during the break and ground out the sessions. Testing on Saturday provided the tangible results for the players to see the improvements made and to renew their focus ahead of the 2023 season.

In addition to the fitness testing, the squad worked hard in contested sessions with an emphasis on fast ball movement and second efforts to support the player with the ball. These drills reflect modern AFL game play and are the way that the two squads will be asked to play in matches on the Gold Coast on Saturday 18 March.

Before those matches there will be one further session to prepare, where the two squads will continue to build on the game play principles that they have been introduced to throughout the program. The next session will be on Saturday 25 February at the new Wiigulga Sports Complex.