Fitzy Raring To Go In 2009

January 7, 2009 by Paul Mc

With Salford City Reds set to fly out for their warm-weather training camp in Jacksonville, Florida on Sunday, full-back Karl Fitzpatrick will be making the trip to the States for a fifth time.

Having played a key role in Ireland’s impressive World Cup performance in Australia at the end of last year, both he and fellow Irish International Stuart Littler returned to training ahead of schedule to make sure they were fully prepared for the Super League season ahead.

“We both turned up for training on 15 December, which was earlier than we needed to as we’d been given an extended break after the World Cup.” said Fitzpatrick.

“The Tournament was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me and I enjoyed it immensely, but both myself and Stuart know that Super League is going to be harder and tougher than ever before this season and we both wanted to be prepared both mentally and physically for everything it can throw at us.” He continued.
Since the pair have returned to the fold at The Willows England has been gripped by its coldest winter for decades and conditions have been tough.

“Today has been ridiculous. It’s so cold out there at the moment. It will be great to get to Jacksonville and be able to work on some of the things you just can’t do over here at this time of year.

A snowy Willows in the middle of the cold snap

“This year we have the added bonus of playing Leeds while we are out there, so we can try a few things out against the World Champions. The game is going to be played over four quarters so they will be plenty of swaps and changes. It’ll be interesting to say the least.”

The Reds will return later in the month and take on Widnes Vikings before the big Super League opener at The Willows on 14 February.