Competitive spirit was well and truly in the air at the Novotel Pacific Bay Resort's Elite Training Centre on Thursday as the Sydney Swans battled it out in a Fitball wrestling drill.

There were many heated battles on the wrestling mat, beginning with a tough tussle between powerhouses Kurt Tippett and Josh Kennedy, who both held their own in the contest.

Draftee Zak Jones was ferocious in his match-up with fellow new recruit Jeremy Laidler, which caught the attention for many of his older team mates in the gym.

Fresh from taking on rugby league’s Roy Asotasi, Ben McGlynn set himself another big challenge, this time against rookie ruckman Sam Naismith, who had him covered in the height department by more than 30 centimetres.

Later in the session, Shane Biggs and draftee Aliir Aliir became so involved in the drill that both players ended up flat on their backs after the 10-second contest, while Jarrad McVeigh versus Rhyce Shaw resembled the proverbial arm-wrestle with neither party willing to give in.



The drill, which was overseen by Strength Coach, Damien Austin, focused on improving the players' ability to remain upright in the tackle.

“Basically it’s the opposite of league or union who want to go to ground in a tackle, we want to keep our feet and keep a strong position,” Austin told sydneyswans.com.au.

“What we were trying to do with the Fitball was maintaining that strong position and working hard to hold our bodies up.

“We can twist and move another opponent and force them into how we want to play.

“It’s just about keeping our feet and keeping strong.”



This week’s wrestling drill was not the first time the Swans have faced off at the Elite Training Centre, with the team taking part in a heavier hit-out at last year’s Coffs Harbour Camp.

Following Wednesday’s gruelling intra-club match and training session, Austin said the boys were given a lighter work load to recover from yesterday.

“Last year when we came here we had full-on contact, so no Fitball or body pads, but this time we just used the ball so we were a little less full on,” he said.

“The intra-club was pretty much like playing a game, but just a level below, and you still get bruises and contact, so it needs a bit of man-management in the gym afterwards.

“In addition to the wrestling, we just did some nice quick power movements, so it was just a short workout for some tired bodies.”

The Swans will return to the training track tomorrow morning, when the club hosts its second open session at C.ex Coffs International Stadium from 8.30am.