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I just read the following and was shocked to see we had again not taken advantage of what Darwin offers in terms of rehab, not to mention the team bonding component of a week away. I was already shocked and disappointed when our club hierarchy tried to make out we were getting out and conducting training sessions in Alice Springs in late May. In actual fact all bar Dion Johnstone, Declan Keilty and I think one other attended an outback community clinic - the rest spent just one night in Alice Springs. That was somewhat understandable - Alice Springs is very much a backwater and has poor recovery facilities. So getting Virgin Airlines to agree to a late night Saturday return flight to Melbourne can be viewed as highly practical ... even clever. But this is different. We are now in the middle of winter and have already seen a spate of soft-tissue injuries. And Darwin is not a backwater - it has genuinely good facilities and a sporting precinct. It is a perfect place for our players to get away and put in a solid week of preparation without having to don tights and fear sprinting full pelt. It could have been a godsend for the likes of Nathan Jones, Wattsy, Salem and Dom to get some decent speed sessions in as they attempt to overcome their injuries. But more importantly it was a rare chance for someone like Jack Trengove, who is deemed to be too slow, to get in some serious sprint work - without having to fear whether they had sufficently warmed up enough bracing Melbourne's cold. It was also the chance for our players to really embrace the NT community - to conduct special clinics with the talented locals and really spruik our brand in the region. To me, we have come a really long way under Jacko. But we continue to pay NT lip service and just take the money and run. Are we really that poor still that we cannot afford to spend a week's accom in Darwin on our team? Or is there something more sinister at brew - we are about to ditch the NT program outright? Anyone with inside information feel free to comment. http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-07-13/no-darwin-trip-for-injured-demon-duo