Melbourne Demons skipper Max Gawn has disclosed that the playing group received a sobering police safety briefing before embarking on their demanding pre-season training camp in regional Victoria, conducted near an area where a fugitive is suspected to be hiding.
Police Warning Amid Fugitive Search
The Demons undertook their gruelling camp in late November, which featured a challenging hike up Mount Buffalo. This location is close to where Dezi Freeman, wanted in connection with the alleged shooting of two police officers in Porepunkah on August 26, is believed to have fled. Police suspect he may have escaped into the nearby national park.
Gawn revealed that officers involved in the search for Freeman addressed the team just before their hike. "That camp that we did up in Bright," Gawn told Triple M. "Just before the hike, we actually got spoken to by police officers that were on site for the Bright shootings that were there earlier in the year."
The captain admitted the warning added an extra layer of intensity to the session. "And obviously Dezi is still on the loose and we were doing a hike that he did ... that's where he sort of ran away. Our eyes were peeled, we were actually a little bit scared as well, so it made us run a little bit quicker."
Camp Chaos: CEO Gets Lost, Journo to the Rescue
Beyond the potential fugitive encounter, Gawn shed light on a lighter, albeit chaotic, moment involving the club's new CEO, Paul Guerra. According to Gawn, Guerra attempted the brutal run but somehow vanished from the group.
"I'm a foot in each camp here ... Did he get lost? Or was the hike hard and he purposely turned right when he knew to go left?" Gawn joked. The situation was resolved when sports journalist Ed Bourke from the Herald Sun found the misplaced CEO.
"The funniest thing was that he got lost, and we had a young Herald Sun journo out there, and he was the guy who found him," Gawn said. "That's how the story gets out because Paul goes to the young journo 'I'm lost' and then, bang, there's a story." Gawn also quipped about his own decision to complete part of the hike bare-chested.
Smarter Training and Injury Setbacks
While acknowledging the camp's toughness, Gawn explained that the club's pre-season training philosophy is evolving. He suggested the sessions are becoming more intelligent rather than simply more brutal.
"It's getting easier because the high-performance team are getting smarter and they realise that just absolutely smashing people for no reason doesn't really help you play football," Gawn stated. He outlined the new focus: "Less running in terms of overall kilometres but more efficient running, more speed, more high speed."
The revelation comes as the Demons manage a couple of significant pre-season injuries. The club recently confirmed that veteran midfielder Jack Viney is managing an Achilles issue and will be on light duties until the end of the year. This follows news that Jake Bowey will be sidelined for approximately six months after undergoing surgery for a Lisfranc injury.
