Canterbury’s most precious cargo will arrive sometime before midnight on Sunday night.
Luke Thompson will hop in a car around 1pm on Sunday and embark on the nine-hour drive from Melbourne to Sydney.
It will complete 31 hours of travelling time for the English prop to finally arrive at his new home. That journey started in England two weeks ago when the 25-year-old left for Australia, before spending two weeks in a Melbourne hotel in forced quarantine.
“It was weird,” Thompson said of the flight to Australia. “It was like I was on a spaceship. All the air hostesses were wearing white spacesuit-like outfits. The plane only had three people on it. The airport was empty.”
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Bulldogs recruit looks set to start in Round 8 after arriving in Sydney. Picture: Getty Images.
Melbourne‘s Crown hotel has been his home the past two weeks. Unable to leave the hotel room, Thompson has stuck to a routine which has included training with a gym set-up by the Bulldogs.
“It’s not been too bad,” Thompson said. “I suppose the toughest thing has been being on my own, not being able to see anyone.
“My breakfast comes at 7am. That gets me up nice and early and then I’ll usually Facetime the girlfriend for an hour or two before she goes to bed.
“Then I’ll start training. I’ll usually do a few weights session and a Wattbike (trainer) bike session. Then I’ll have a few zoom calls with people at the club sorting stuff out.
“You don’t need much to put a good workout together. I’ve got a few dumbbells varying in weights. I’ve got a barbell and some weights to put on that. The hotel staff brought me up a gym bench.
“The first day I got here, the food wasn’t the best. It’s got on track after that. We get three meals a day. They’ve been upping my portions. I’m getting a portion for two each meal.”
The marquee forward Thompson is one of the biggest signings in the Bulldogs history.
Thompson spent the rest of his time watching recent NRL matches, studying video clips the Bulldogs staff relayed to him and scrolling for something to watch on Netflix.
The Bulldogs opted to have Thompson drive back with a club official, with the gym equipment loaded in the car, instead of taking a risk by flying, given Victoria’s heightened COVID situation.
Thompson was surprised by the length of the drive but said it would give him an opportunity to “see a bit of Australia”.
He is unsure exactly when Bulldogs fans will get a first glimpse of their star signing but they will have to wait at least two weeks. Thompson will be joining his teammates at Belmore for the first time this week.
“I’ve not played for over three months,” Thompson said. “I’ve been keeping myself fit in isolation back home, giving myself a flogging at a field next to my house.
“There is expectation. The pressure I put on myself is the standards I set, to meet them every day with my training, diet and the way I live my life. I don’t look at the external pressure.”
Luke Thompson has spent the last two weeks training in isolation after arriving in Australia. Picture: Getty Images.
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https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/s...y/news-story/c6a55cc45e203b53036949f76e392b32
