{"id":789,"date":"2020-06-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-05T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/reports\/epp-miniseries-diary-of-a-return-to-play-how-the-nrls-melbourne-storm-and-canberra-raiders-resumed-the-season\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:12:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T05:12:17","slug":"diary-of-a-return-to-play-how-the-nrls-melbourne-storm-and-canberra-raiders-resumed-the-season","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/diary-of-a-return-to-play-how-the-nrls-melbourne-storm-and-canberra-raiders-resumed-the-season\/","title":{"rendered":"EPP Miniseries: Diary of a Return to Play – How the NRL\u2019s Melbourne Storm and Canberra Raiders Resumed the Season"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n Jun 05, 2020 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>Articles<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

EPP Miniseries: Diary of a Return to Play – How the NRL\u2019s Melbourne Storm and Canberra Raiders Resumed the Season<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n \n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Category<\/div>\n Leadership & Culture<\/a> <\/div>\n
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https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/diary-of-a-return-to-play-how-the-nrls-melbourne-storm-and-canberra-raiders-resumed-the-season\/<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n
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In the second of a new series with Elite Performance Partners, Frank Ponissi of the Melbourne Storm and Matt Ford of the Canberra Raiders chart the day of their encounter as part of the NRL\u2019s grand restart.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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The Canberra Raiders travelled to the Melbourne Storm for the National Rugby League\u2019s restart at the end of May.<\/h4>\n
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By John Portch with Dave Slemen<\/h6>\n

The Raiders prevailed 22-6 to further burnish their Telstra Premiership credentials but the fact that the league was back in any shape or form was of greater significance than any single result.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid I, back in March, think we\u2019d be back playing on 28 May? Hand on heart, no. I thought it would be too ambitious, too fast,\u201d admitted the Storm\u2019s General Manager Frank Ponissi.<\/p>\n

The original 2020 NRL draw, which took place in November, pitted these teams against each other at the Storm\u2019s AAMI Park in round 13 in early June.<\/p>\n

That date was scratched from the calendar on 23 March when the NRL, moved by the pandemic, suspended play across the league after just two rounds and two weeks. The first round had been played as normal and the second behind closed doors as Australia dealt with the spread of Covid-19.<\/p>\n

A little under 10 weeks later, the NRL became one of pro sport\u2019s first mothballed leagues to return to action.<\/p>\n

That process was described at great length<\/u><\/a> by Storm General Manager Frank Ponissi, who spoke online to Dave Slemen of Elite Performance Partners<\/a> [EPP], a search, selection and advisory firm working across elite sport and specialising in performance, and the Leaders Performance Institute.<\/p>\n

\u201cI recommend teams have a plan A, a plan B and a plan C because you\u2019ll need them all,\u201d he continued. \u201cPlanning for different scenarios is important and adaptability is the greatest quality you can have because things change regularly and you\u2019ve got to go with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

In late-May, the revised draw was announced a schedule reduced from 25 rounds to 20. The Raiders\u2019 encounter with the Storm was reinstated for the grand reopening weekend. Seven days later, the NRL and Victoria state authorities gave permission for the game to take place at AAMI Park behind closed doors. \u201cIt\u2019s been a bit of a whirlwind,\u201d added Ponissi.<\/p>\n

The Melbourne General Manager is a friendly, engaging and insightful character, which is why EPP and the Leaders Performance Institute jumped at his offer to keep a performance diary on the day of the Raiders game. He even suggested enlisting his counterpart at Canberra, Matt Ford, who showed us equal generosity and graciousness in coming onboard for the idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike most clubs,\u201d Ford tells us via email,\u00a0\u201cI am sure we have approached the travel and interruptions to normal game day processes with gratitude that we are back playing rugby league.\u201d<\/p>\n

On that note, both men have alluded to the newfound spirit of cooperation that exists between the 16 NRL teams. Ford adds: \u201cTo take this a step further we believe there may well be opportunities that we look to implement post-Covid\u00a0after being forced to re-think how we operate in and around games.\u201d<\/p>\n

The following is Ponissi and Ford\u2019s accounts of Saturday 30 May.<\/p>\n

Morning, Saturday 30 May<\/b><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Frank Ponissi:<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0Up to the time before we go to the stadium, there aren\u2019t any major differences given that this is\u00a0a home game for us. For all home games, we allow our players and staff to go straight home to the stadium and we do not go into a hotel either the night before or the day of a home game. It differs for our away games, which\u00a0are all interstate. The players will\u00a0follow their normal routine in regards to when they wake up, eat, and have an afternoon nap. We encourage our players to have a normal preparation home and away regardless of if they are in a hotel\u00a0or not.<\/p>\n

Given that there were no crowd allowed to watch the game, all the players and staff comment how they received no last-minute ticket requests. This is a plus.<\/p>\n

1:00pm – Raiders depart from Canberra Airport<\/b><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Matt Ford:<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0Players and staff have to be at the charter plane hangar at Canberra Airport by 1:00pm. Upon arrival all players, staff and the match day referees have\u00a0their health assessment checks (temperature recording etc.) Once the health test was passed, the travelling party could walk onto the tarmac and board the 80-seat charter plane.<\/p>\n

The seamless air travel logistics are much preferred to the traditional domestic flight scenario. The ability to arrive much closer to departure as well as our gear van being able to drive directly onto the tarmac are much easier than the usual check-in process. Likewise on the return flight, players and staff are in their car with their backpack five\u00a0minutes after landing.<\/p>\n

No food\/drinks are served,\u00a0however,\u00a0we each have\u00a0the option to bring something along. Upon landing in Melbourne, a coach pulled up on the tarmac adjacent to the aircraft and all the team gear was loaded within ten\u00a0minutes.<\/p>\n

FP:<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0Whilst we do not have to travel for another two\u00a0weeks\u00a0[to take on the Newcastle Knights on 13 June], we are already planning ahead to that first away game and we have staff talking to other clubs who did travel to get any advice.<\/p>\n

3:30pm – Raiders arrive at AAMI Park<\/b><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

MF:<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0After a 30-minute\u00a0trip by coach,\u00a0we arrive at AAMI Park to a \u2018pre-game corporate space\u2019. These spaces\u00a0are\u00a0standardised at each playing venue across the NRL to include three\u00a0massage tables, TVs, an area for dining, Wi-Fi,\u00a0and couches.<\/p>\n

The major consideration at this point is adequately planning this\u00a0two hours of \u2018dead\u2019 time prior to the squad entering the change rooms. This time\u00a0is locked in by the NRL as contingency time in the event of a flight delay etc.\u00a0but does make for a long period when players would otherwise be in the hotel relaxing\/sleeping etc.<\/p>\n

Given our normal preparation in the change\u00a0rooms commences\u00a0two\u00a0hours before kick-off,\u00a0we used the corporate space to relax for two\u00a0hours prior to transferring to the change rooms.\u00a0Our plan was to have food catering as close to what \u2018normal\u2019 would be in terms of quantity\/quality if we were at a hotel for the pre-game meal. We have an internal tradition on game day where the players enjoy a coffee together.\u00a0Although this normally coincides with their team walk,\u00a0we pre-ordered coffees at the stadium so they were ready upon arrival. This was an effort to keep the game day experience as normal as possible where we could.<\/p>\n

Aside from this,\u00a0there was an\u00a0opportunity for our two\u00a0physios and a\u00a0massage therapist to provide treatment\u00a0during\u00a0this time following the travel we had just endured. Other recovery modalities\u00a0such as Normatec recovery boots were utilised.\u00a0Fingers crossed we believe these\u00a0interventions will be successful in reducing injuries. That being said,\u00a0we are about to endure another six\u00a0weeks of travel, including 3.5-hour bus\u00a0journeys\u00a0on the day of the game,\u00a0as we do not have any \u2018home\u2019 matches in Canberra (these have been temporarily moved to Sydney).<\/p>\n

FP:<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0Whilst fierce competitors on the field there is a genuine high level of good spirit and co-operation between clubs at the moment so we all want to help each other given the unusual circumstances of travelling up and back on game days. In the past clubs wouldn\u2019t be as accommodating!<\/p>\n

3:30pm-4:30pm – \u2018Clean area\u2019 prepared<\/b><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

FP:<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0The \u2018clean area\u2019 [the change rooms and the player corridor] are deep cleaned for an hour. Broadcasters must also be set up no more than four hours before kick-off.<\/p>\n

MF:<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0Given the tight timing for access to the change rooms our gear steward required the assistance of another four\u00a0staff to set up in the one hour prior to players arriving in the change rooms. Given we do not have a media staff member travelling with the squad I assumed the media coordination duties for game day. Thankfully we are still travelling with the same personnel we would normally so all other roles remained close to the same.<\/p>\n

4:30pm-5:30pm <\/b><\/strong>– <\/b><\/strong>Storm players go through the NRL assessment point \/ enter the change rooms<\/b><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

FP:<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0Players entered the stadium at a\u00a0different entrance than they\u00a0normally would, as they had to go through a central NRL assessment point. Whilst this may not seem too challenging, players are creatures of habit. We also planned for our players to come in slightly earlier than normal given the protocols and that there was only one assessment point.<\/p>\n

During the week, communication and education regarding game day was absolutely paramount. We didn\u2019t want any surprises on game day. We erred on over-communicating to ensure that everyone was totally aware. Even little things like educating the players on not having ear phones or hoodies before the assessment tests as these raise your temperature. We have pushed the theme of adaptability for a number of weeks.<\/p>\n

The Raiders and ourselves had co-ordinated arrival times to avoid a bottleneck at the assessment point.<\/p>\n

The other factor was the stress on the players and staff;\u00a0that they were going to be temperature tested on arrival and,\u00a0if they failed to be below 37.3 twice within 15 minutes,\u00a0they would not be allowed in and therefore ruled out. I had a player call me earlier in the afternoon who felt fine but had tested slightly above in the morning. These are stresses that players usually don\u2019t experience. Once the players passed through, nothing really changed too much from normal except comments about how many normal game day staff were not there. Each club is allowed 13 staff on game day.<\/p>\n

5:30pm-5:45pm – Raiders go through the NRL assessment point \/ enter change rooms<\/b><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

MF:<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0For the two\u00a0hours in the change rooms prior to kick-off and then the game itself, most operational things were normal.<\/p>\n

7:35pm – Kick-off<\/b><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

MF:<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0The competition has moved to a one-referee system for the remainder of this season and that is to be reviewed for 2021 and beyond. This decision was in part a financial decision by the league due to Covid.<\/p>\n

The stadium is also less daunting in terms of the atmosphere provided in-game.<\/p>\n

FP: <\/b><\/strong>Games are both more or less daunting without crowds. We really enjoy our home support at AAMI Park but we also love playing at intimidating away venues.<\/p>\n

In terms of injuries, I don\u2019t think anything in particular from this game or any given game will be any different. However, it\u2019s the cumulative effect of travelling up\/back on one day, and the fact that the NRL have made some key law changes,\u00a0which has sped up the game,\u00a0will all have an effect over a period of time. That will come down to recovery and training workloads in weeks to come. Our other issue is that the players currently not selected to play don\u2019t have the opportunity to play in lower leagues as they usually do so when they do eventually play they will be at a higher risk.<\/p>\n

9:30pm – Full-time<\/b><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

FP: <\/b><\/strong>The Raiders certainly adapted better than we did in reacting to the lack of atmosphere on game night given no crowds. They had a fast start going to a 12-0 early lead which proved significant in the end.<\/p>\n

MF:<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0Post-game presented a challenge when we were notified that we may not be able to fly back into Canberra that evening due to fog. A contingency plan had been made to leave the stadium ASAP\u00a0after full-time and possibly fly to\u00a0Wagga Wagga, which would leave us with with 2.5-hour bus trip to Canberra, or Sydney, which meant a 3.5-hour drive back.<\/p>\n

10:00pm – Raiders leave the stadium<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0<\/b><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

MF:<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0Thankfully, in the end\u00a0we were allowed to fly into Canberra.<\/p>\n

10:30pm – Storm players leave the stadium<\/b><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

FP:<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0Post game, the players and staff left the stadium much earlier than a normal home game given the reduced commitments. That allowed them to start their recovery quicker.<\/p>\n

11:00pm – Storm staff leave the stadium<\/b><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

FP:<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0Now that we have been through round 3\u00a0and we know what to expect, we will pull back talking about the processes and logistics of the new match day protocols. It\u2019s now a case of \u2018just get on with it!\u2019<\/p>\n

With\u00a0regards to performance on the field,\u00a0the players have definitely learnt some valuable lessons in adapting to the vastly different surrounds. Whilst we still have one more home game [Friday 5 June vs South Sydney Rabbitohs] before we are required to travel, we were fortunate that we travelled to the Cronulla Sharks on the day of the game for round 2 back in March before Covid-19 stopped the competition. Given that we won\u00a0that day, behind closed doors, that will give us a lot of confidence.<\/p>\n

12:10am – Raiders land at Canberra Airport<\/b><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

MF:<\/b><\/strong> Had\u00a0we been diverted we would likely have arrived home via coach at 4 or 5am.\u00a0We are striving for consistency in how we approach our travel. We are also conscious that this is all very new to players\/staff to have to deal with,\u00a0so if we need to make any changes on the run we will. Our ultimate hope is that beyond round 9\u00a0(which\u00a0the playing venues are currently scheduled until) we resume playing in our home town of Canberra and,\u00a0further to that,\u00a0in front of crowds again before too long.<\/p>\n

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Could you and your team be making better use of your performance metrics?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If so, then the latest Leaders Performance Institute Special Report, Analyse This: Managing Your Metrics<\/em>, will be right up your street. It features a variety of sports organisations, from the San Antonio Spurs<\/strong> and England Netball<\/strong>, to the Wests Tigers<\/strong> and Tennis Australia<\/strong>, via British Skeleton<\/strong>. Download it now.<\/p>\n