The Power players, under the guidance of fitness coach Cam Falloon, have been paying regular visits to the University of South Australia’s humidity chambers to help them acclimatise to the Territory’s draining conditions.
Falloon introduced the acclimatisation approach during his time with the Dogs and Port Adelaide skipper Dom Cassisi said his team was keen to try it out.
“We’ve been here [at the humidity chamber] once or twice a week for three or four weeks now, just building it up slowly with the amount of humidity and training intensity in there,” Cassisi said on Tuesday.
“It’s all about us getting a bit of an advantage over the opposition this weekend.
The Western Bulldogs did it (acclimatised last year) so that might have been a factor in them running out the game better than us.”
Tuesday’s 30-minute bike session was Cassisi’s sixth in the humidity chamber.
He said the conditions inside the chamber were pretty similar to those in Darwin.
“When you walk into the chamber, it’s like when you step off the plane in Darwin. You do feel that humidity hit you straight away, so for us to be exposed to us prior to going up there can only be beneficial for us.”
Players are notorious for giving the old ‘one-week at a time’ cliché, but Cassisi admitted his side had been looking forward to Saturday night’s clash for some time.
“Preparation-wise, a lot more has gone into this week than a normal game and that’s why we’re looking forward to seeing how it rolls out come game day,” he said.
“It’s all part of being professional and getting our bodies right for the game.”
Cassisi said a win over the in-form Dogs would put the Power in an ideal position going into the second-half of the year.
“This week is a vital game for us. If we can be 7-5 at the midway point of the season, it’s fair to say we’ll be pushing hard to make finals and, maybe, even the top-four.”
