There have been almost 50 main trainings since the Pies started pre-season back in November last year, but none have been bigger than this Thursday’s session ahead of the Preliminary Final.

While the components of the day are largely the same as usual – a two-hour session on track, into lunch, gym, recovery and meetings – there is a lot of peripheral activity that comes with the penultimate week of the season.

Accompanied by some exclusive images from the day inside the four walls of the AIA Vitality Centre, follow the Pies as the clock ticked towards 48 hours until bounce time.

Arrival

While the spring equinox sees the sun rise earlier and earlier as footy’s favourite month goes deeper, players are up and preparing for the day ahead even before the yellow ray starts peeking through their windows in the early hours of Thursday.

With many Pies livingly coastally, they must wake around 6am to drive into the Club by 7am for treatment and touch, with main training then starting as most of the public start their workday at 9am.

There are some usual suspects who roll in before anyone else. Isaac Quaynor frequents the gym between 7-8am – getting in his ‘prehab’ which keeps his finely-tuned body in tip top shape for the rigours of AFL. Many of the squad’s younger players are up there too, building strong habits regardless of where they sit on the selection spectrum.

In a surprise to no one, 20-season champion Scott Pendlebury spends arguably the longest in the gym throughout the morning. A weight is barely touched for this session, but plenty is achieved, with the veteran utilising a range of fitness accoutrements and stretching techniques to loosen his limbs up for the day’s main training on track.

It isn’t uncommon for Pendlebury and few of the other elder statesmen to skip the optional touch session the Pies’ development team conducts at 8am – choosing to spend their time upstairs or in the treatment room instead – with schedule flexibility one of the markers of the team’s success.

A short meeting takes place before the whole squad hits the track for the final time before Saturday evening, with an army of Magpie fans awaiting on the other side of the AIA Centre doors.

Main training

Two hours of high-intensity training is to come as Magpies skipper Darcy Moore waits for one of the Pies’ trainers to put his GPS into his training jumper, but he immediately darts left as soon as he can to greet the black and white contingent of fans situated on the Olympic Boulevard side of the oval.

Having experienced the full passion bestowed upon he and his teammates during the premiership campaign two seasons ago, Moore knows better than anyone the importance of bringing the lifeblood of the Club along for the ride.

With high fives exchanged and warmups complete, the squad moves into their first drills of the morning.

A suite of assistant coaches patrol the oval as the intricate details of the session materialise, while Senior Coach Craig McRae oversees the operations – moving from drill to drill in the early stages of the session.

Trademark puffer jacket zipped up and football boots on, McRae’s four assistants and four development coaches are able to set up the majority of the first half of the session for him.

But before long, the puffer is off, and McRae’s whistle is in his mouth, as the training’s main event gets underway. Having brought the entire squad inside first before officiating the squad’s match play drill, he conducts just what he’s looking his team to implement when Saturday’s twilight fixture gets underway.

Offering a small glimpse into how the much-anticipated team might line up on Saturday, players set off for their designated positions, keen to impress. Whether it’s a battle between Moore and young forward Charlie West inside fifty, or Ned Long going head-to-head with Pendlebury in the midfield, every contest is done to the max during this section of the day.

And throughout it all, the more-than 1000 strong crowd that have shown up create a fever pitch atmosphere at an event that happens at least once a week. While some ride the wave of each drill – much like the media pack that follow the session intently as they wait for McRae’s weekly presser later that morning – some use the day to immerse themselves in the countless activities happening around the precinct.

As parents hand over $10 notes that net their family of five a bacon and egg roll each, kids roam the Lou Richards lawn with footballs in hand, face paint across their cheeks, and the option of a Brayden Maynard style haircut at their disposal. Even some of the adults don’t resist a free trim. September is here, and the Magpie Army knows it.

As training winds down and Magpies staff begin delivering footies for the squad to hand out to their adoring fans, the essence of the game is put on full display.

Moore heads over to a young four-year-old whose sign indicates she’s the skipper’s ‘little biggest fan’, while Brayden Maynards does similar for a young girl with a pink sign in the same vein. It elicits a reaction only ‘The Bruz’ can create, as he lifts the teary-eyed young girl sporting the number four onto his side of the track for a photo and a signature. They’re small moments in the context of a long day, but they create the largest memories.

Mason Cox does his customary lap of the fans before saddling up alongside his ever-supportive family who have arrived from Dallas only in recent days. If ever you needed a sign that the pointy end of a campaign was upon us, you would find it in Cox's family being in town.

As the players head inside, McRae walks into the waiting press pack for his press conference. More than 10 journalists, five camera crews and two photographers surround the microphone stand where the 52-year-old takes his place, and he shakes the hand of every single one of them before he does so. While the coach admittedly likes to be cheeky, he has an inherent respect for the game and its people too, as reflected in his honest responses over the ensuing 10 minutes.

Having handled the questions thrown at him, McRae heads over to the fans hanging onto his every word to give his thanks before heading inside himself. The day’s activities outside have wrapped up, but there’s still plenty to be achieved.

Gym & recovery

Having replenished themselves with a full spread of lunch provided by the Club, the players split into two groups for the afternoon’s rotations.

As those with even numbers head upstairs for their final gym session of the week, the odd numbers do some recovery, before switching halfway through.

With match day not far away, it’s not the most intense weight shifting of the year, but it’s a necessary tune-up nonetheless. With time between sets and encouragement flowing, it’s a great opportunity for the players to further build their connection with each other.

The same can be said for the spas and saunas, as player wind down from training. Sharing laughs and stories, the comradery of the group is evident, buoyed by their position as one of the final four teams left in the season. The peak of their training for the week is complete, with the first bounce creeping closer and closer.

Team Meeting

The final touchpoint between players and coaching staff comes in the form of a 15-minute team meeting after the iron has been pumped and the muscles recovered.

With those in the squad for the weekend’s game due back in the morning for the Captain’s Run, McRae keeps things short and sweet but has some key themes he wants to hit.

As players sit in a u-shape around the screen at the front of the room, they listen intently as their coach commends their approach to the week that’s been so far. There’s pride in his voice, as he reminds them how lucky they are to be in this position, and he commends them for how they’ve conducted themselves throughout – whether it be on the track, signings autographs, or through the corridors.

Promoting the mantra synonymous with the black and white – side by side – he encourages those around them to shoutout some people who have lived the value each day. Moore calls out the medical team for their constant care, Jeremy Howe the welfare team for their support throughout his injury journey, and Roan Steele the development coaches for their willingness to teach. The attitude of those in rehab is commended too, with playing group favourite Reef McInnes celebrated for having acquainted himself with the bench press even further throughout his recovery, notching another personal best.

To round out the day, a video plays which details all of this in visual form. Voiced by heart and soul Vice-Captain Brayden Maynard, the team’s journey and all the people involved along the way pop up on screen at some stage. Eyes are fixated to the screen as goosebumps roll across the arms of those in the room – brick walls would be shattered if they were being run at right now.

There might still be two days until the game, but it’s the sign that it’s nearly time to go. Not much more can be done, as the Pies step up to the plate for their third Preliminary Final in four years. Another main training day done, but few have had more importance and meaning as one of the best weekends on the football calendar awaits.