A few months have passed since talented draft prospect Zane Trew described what it is like to be in football lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Happily, things have changed for the better in Western Australia with life steadily returning to normal including the start of a nine game WAFL season on July 18.

In the latest addition of his Draft Diary, the Swan Districts youngster writes about his excitement about taking part in full-scale training and learning the tricks of the trade from senior teammates. 

It is evident that Zane cannot wait for the siren to sound for to signify the start of the 2020 season.

It has been unreal to get footy back. The first few weeks were very different to what everyone has been used to We were only training in small groups of 20 doing non-contact drills at the start but I seriously don’t think many people minded. I know personally, I just loved being out on the track having a kick with my teammates once again.

After a month of slow preparation due to a prolonged pre-season, we were now ready for full training with the restrictions being taken down. All of the boys are in really good shape and slowly ramping things up so that as a team, we are mentally and physically ready for round 1 which is only a couple of weeks away and is incredibly special.

Everyone is different in preparing for the shortened season but during the break, I was really trying to put in some serious work to my body. I realised that this was a great opportunity to gain a bit of strength and get more kilometres into the legs so that I can compete with some of the big names at league level and at the same time make my family proud.

I love being back at training and have put a few things in place so that I am prepared for when footy comes back around. In drills with the senior squad, I have been placing myself on the best midfielders in our team who are absolute guns. They obviously push me around a bit, but I do not let that get to me because I know that I can learn a lot of things like different positioning and other features to their game which makes them so dominant so that I can be better than them in the future and when I go back to the (Colts) level I can be dominant.

Some other things I have looked to focus on for the return of the season include being clean by hand and foot and having a specific routine when kicking for goal.

This year has had its ups and downs and the change has been hard, but I know how much football means to me and I cannot wait to get out there and do what I love again. I trust all this preparation will hold me in good stead for when Round 1 hits wherever I play and I’m more than excited for it.