Two Albury Thunder youngsters have returned to their home club after two weeks of living and breathing the life of an NRL player with Melbourne Storm.
Mason Fuller and Ty Fletcher were the first players to train with Storm under a new partnership between the two clubs.
Two Thunder players will travel to Melbourne for a two-week period every off-season, getting the chance to train under the guidance of head coach Craig Bellamy and his football department staff.
Fuller and Fletcher’s training partners during their stay, which finished last week, included State of Origin duo Harry Grant and Xavier Coates and premiership winner Ryan Papenhuyzen.
Fuller told the Albury Border-Mail he was impressed by Storm’s attention to detail.
"They focus on the small things …. when you're a kid you're learning how to pass, but even in the NRL, they do it.
"And they did a lot of sprinting drills, with more efficient running techniques.
"The club stressed your first effort should be your best effort all the time.”
Storm also invited new president Herb Stratton and ex-boss Rick O'Connell for a visit to the club.
"You can see why everybody considers the club such a great organisation," Stratton told the Border-Mail.
"They made us feel like one of their own, they treated everybody the same.”