As I walked along Carlton Street in West Leederville, I wondered to myself what was about to happen. 24 hours prior I had received the chance of a lifetime - I was going to be sideline reporting on Twitter for Carlton's open training session.

When I arrived at Paterson stadium shortly after 4 pm on Friday afternoon there were already lots of people waiting for the doors to open. The later it got, the more people started showing up. It was a great feeling to see so many people come to support their club at the final training session. As 4.25pm rolled around the doors opened and people raced in to get the best seat to see their beloved Blues hit the training track. 

At 4.30pm I met with Luca Gonano, the Club's Digital Manager, and he explained what was going to happen for the following session. As I walked down the steps and onto the ground I felt a strange sense of being at home on the ground and surrounded by supporters and club staff.

 As a few players were already on the track I proceeded to ask a few questions to which I received all the information I was looking for. I was then introduced to Michelle, the Media Manager, and was greeted like a person who had been around the Club for a long time. The staff at Carlton were extremely welcoming which made me feel relaxed and made for very easy working conditions.

The President, Mr Stephen Kernahan, eventually came to sit in the dugout after spending a few minutes signing autographs for the supporters. He was very kind in shaking my hand and sounding interested when asking exactly what it was I was doing. It was a great feeling to be in the presence of such a great player for our club.

Training started with a run and stretch followed by various kicking drills and then some centre field to goal drills.

The boys trained well with the majority of all kicks hitting their intended targets. The players and supporters were all in high spirits; the supporters jumped at the rare chance to get close to their beloved Blues with a great turn out.

Some of the boys entertained the crowd with attempted trick shots - first from the ramp to the goals then from the goals to the ramp and finally from the boundary to goals from a very acute angle. 

With the training session coming to an end most of the players started signing autographs for the supporters, I met Shaun Hampson. He was very nice and took a photo with me. By 6.05pm all the players had finally been gathered into the change rooms and the fans were headed home all excited at the possibility of a win against the Eagles at the same ground in less than 24 hours.

Once again I would like to thank Luca and the Carlton Football Club for this amazing opportunity. It was a great insight into the Club and I felt very welcomed by all the staff that I met. This is a memory I will have with me forever and I’m very appreciative of that! 

Go the Blues!!