Thursday night footy: JK urges West Coast fans to buy a beanie to help fight MND

THESE days in the AFL you have to be prepared to play at any time, on any day.

Because of the fixturing our sports science department puts an enormous amount of work into our training program and it is planned months ahead.

Obviously it’s not locked in stone, there are opportunities to tweak it a little depending on the type of game we’ve been involved in and how our travel load has been, but the training schedule is drafted for the whole year.

As an example of why there needs to be meticulous planning we go from playing last Friday night in Sydney at the SCG to a Thursday night fixture against Essendon at Optus Stadium.

We came home Saturday morning and did our own recovery over the weekend before going back into the club on Monday and starting our preparations for the clash with the Bombers.

It should be another great occasion at our new home ground and it will hold special significance for us because Neale Daniher and his Fight for MND cause will be prominent around the ground.

Volunteers will sell the beanies outside the ground pre-game and I’m sure Eagles fans will enjoy the opportunity they have to support such a wonderful cause.

Neale has a special place at the footy club – he was Football Manager for a number of years and was a great support to the playing group. Like everyone else, we all admire his remarkable attitude since being diagnosed with the illness.

He often drops into the team hotel when we’re playing in Melbourne and it’s always good to see him.

Of course Essendon is the club he played with, which is why the MND promotion is happening around the game. It’s pretty important for us to get back on the winners’ list so we will be doing everything we can to claim the four points.