Attitude v Altitude*

For both AFL clubs and the AFL-focussed media, pre-Christmas is a very, very positive time of year. Ageing stars are having “their best pre-season for years”, last year’s draftees and rookies are shaping up as potential superstars and everyone is aiming for “finals footy”.

 

While the Barcodes continue to talk up their Arizona training camps and the Kangaroos, Tigers and Suns follow their lead — hardly surprising incidentally when you remember that Brad Scott and Guy McKenna are graduates of the Barcodes’ coaching academy — Chris Scott’s Cats are sticking close to sea level at Kardinia Park.

 

AussieRulesBlog has questioned the long-term physical effect of altitude training before. We feel like we’re in pretty good company with Chris Scott, Ron Cook and Bomber Thompson all figuring it’s not worth the effort or, more importantly, the expense.

 

As we’ve previously noted, that’s not to deny the possibility of mental advantages. The placebo effect is powerful and the old adage that a change is as good as a holiday holds true in 2011 as much as at any other time in the last fifty years.

 

But we do like the noises out of Cat land on this issue, so much so that we’re moved to borrow a nice turn of phrase from a commenter on the story in the Hun and use it as the inspiration for our headline. *Thanks Ish Mehta!

 

With three Premierships in five years versus one in twenty-one years, you’d have to think that attitude is well in front of altitude at the moment!