Since starting my placement at the West Coast Eagles I have seen a completely different side to both the club and the players. I have always had a passion for sport and particularly AFL and have often wondered how a club ran. On my first day a few weeks ago I arrived and felt a bit of an outsider and being told I was going to have a desk there was daunting but exciting, and I honestly felt bad that I was taking a full time workers' space.
Arriving early in the morning I got to the headquarters and met the boss and he took me to the Doig Room to set up the press conference area for John Worsfold. After completing this he asked me if I was up to speed on what was happening in the AFL and I told him I was and he suggested I read the paper again just to be sure. After preparing some questions we ventured downstairs to meet John Worsfold and bring him to the Doig Room. On the way, my boss Gary briefed John on how to answer some of the questions he might get. He didn't tell him exactly what to say, but he told him a rough outline of how to go about answering the questions. After I sat in on the press conference and listened to what John said, we packed up the coaches banner and tables and I was left to write my story. I sent it to Gary and he didn't have to edit it and he said he was impressed and uploaded it to the Eagles website.
My second press conference was more enjoyable than the first. On the first day I was quite nervous, but on the second day I felt more comfortable. I spoke with the media team for about half an hour and they were telling me about their job which was great and they were genuinely nice people. After we finished chatting, the four players came upstairs for their press conferences where they were also briefed on how to answer questions. The players were Josh Hill, Luke Shuey, Matt Priddis and captain Darren Glass. It was great to be so close to the players and they all shook my hand. Josh Hill was great entertainment and they all had a great relationship with the media team which made me feel even more comfortable.
There were four press conferences to get through, so it did take a long time. Adrian Barich and Lachie Reid were present and they asked most of the questions which allowed me to take a step back and listen to what the players actually said. After about half an hour the press conferences were completed and I waited with Gary for all the media to leave and then we packed the room up. Some of the players had more media commitments to complete such as phone interviews with newspapers in Melbourne.
It was a great experience to be so close to the players and see what goes on behind closed doors. I am really excited about working at the Eagles for the next semester and keen to see how things work on game day. The first match I will be at is on the 7th of April against Hawthorn which will be a massive match.
Until next time.
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