CAMERON Shenton has just the one AFL game to his name and while he didn’t look out of place at the highest level, it was his VFL form that turned heads last year.
Converted from a lead-up forward to a hard-running back flanker in the space of a few weeks, Shenton was in Sandringham’s best for six consecutive weeks – racking up big numbers and using the ball exceptionally via hand and foot.
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With one game under his belt, the 22-year-old is eager to pick up in 2014 where he left off last season, albeit as a rookie.
“This year is my first full pre-season in the backline,” Shenton told SAINTS.com.au on Wednesday.
“So it’s a bit different to the last two years. I’m hopeful I can put my best foot forward there and play a few NAB Cup matches and then we will see what happens from there.”
However Shenton’s focus isn’t entirely self-driven. After two full pre-seasons, he is well qualified to assess the benefits of altitude training and the lift in intensity post-Christmas.
“I think you do feel the advantages after a few weeks from the high altitude training,” he said.
“The intensity before the Christmas break was really good, and once we’ve come back we known that’s the minimum standard we have to do. We’re making sure we hit that standard and trying to go above it now.”
“You get your recovery but then you go at 100 per cent again. You don’t just cruise through a running set and then you go at 100 per cent again.”
Soaring temperatures have certainly tested the playing group’s resolve this week, with Wednesday’s session as mentally tough as it was physically exhausting. But Shenton welcomes the challenge and points to hydration as the key to dealing with the heat and workload.
“We do a hydration test before our main training,” he said. “On the hotter days it’s very important your hydration is right and then after the session we measure how much water we’ve lost and then try and get a litre-and-a-half in with water in for each kilo of body weight.”
“It’s just about getting through [the heat]. All the boys are feeling the same so it’s better for us. Clubs go overseas to train in the heat and like Richo said, today we are getting it for free.”
But it isn’t all heat and sunshine this week, with the traditional ice bath a central component of recovery after yet another strenuous session.
“Training today was pretty full on. Then we got about half an hour for our ice-baths and lunch, then straight to the craft, then weights and just finished a defensive meeting.”
You can follow Tom Morris on Twitter: @tommorris32
