WHEN FANS returned to open training 10 days ago, member Ali Zekeria ventured down to IKON Park and shared his photos on the Carlton Media channels.
This week, it's George Kouroumalis' turn.
Another long-term Carlton member, this is not only George's recollection of the day, but also his story of supporting the Blues from a young age, and returning to the ground where he spent so much of his childhood following his father Sam around.
Hey Bluebaggers,
My name is George - most people call me ‘Kou’ - and I am a lifelong ‘Bagger.
Firstly, I’d like to thank Carlton for giving me an opportunity to not only get along to training, but also permission to take some photos during what was a long three-hour session on an overcast Saturday morning.
After what has been a very tough two years through this pandemic, the first thing that stood out to me being at the ground was the genuine excitement of the fans in attendance. For me too, this was an overriding emotion as I entered the stadium and then took my seat.
Having not had the opportunity to attend this season’s AFLW as of yet, it was also the first time I was able to see the vast amounts of construction happening around the ground and the transformation of the old Hawthorn Stand into what will be the future of the club.
Furthermore, for my family and I, Princes Park is a second home: my father Sam gave the club 14 years of service as a trainer. As a kid, I would be by his side at many training sessions and intra-club matches in and around school commitments. So being there felt amazing and somewhat allowed me to re-live those youthful days of mine.
Moving on, 2022 does look like an exciting one on the park. Michael Voss initially welcomed the attendees prior to the session and you could just feel his aura almost immediately. As mentioned, the boys then put in a three-hour session, which included a mix of drills and three match-play quarters where we got to see some of the new recruits and a familiar face in Charlie Curnow lighting up IKON Park once again.
It was also the first time we caught a glimpse of star recruits Adam Cerra and George Hewett who will add some grunt to the midfield, while it was warming and inspiring to see ‘Doc’ participating for a large part of the session.
To be able to capture this was fantastic, and I’m thankful to the club for allowing me to do so. I hope you enjoy my pics as much as I enjoyed being home once again.
The full gallery of images can be found below.
