Adelaide’s SA/WA Recruiting Manager Phil Bunn has joined the AIS-AFL Academy on its two-week tour of Europe.

Bunn, who joined the Club from Port Adelaide late-last year, will keep a diary of the trip, bringing you up to date with the team’s performances and adventures, and providing an insight to this year’s hottest draft prospects.

Here's the next instalment ...

Day 3, Gavirate, Italy

My day began at 6.00am with a brisk one-hour walk along the track that surrounds Lake Varese. Quite a few of the parents and staff are out exercising, enjoying the crisp morning air.

For the players, the day started with a 7.00am weights session in the AIS gym where James Veale, the AIS-AFL Academy head of fitness, puts the boys through a solid workout. This session was certainly a step up from Monday’s lighter workout and it was great to see a fantastic work ethic from all of the boys.

Some of the bigger-bodied lads like Tom Boyd (Victoria) and Luke Dunstan (SA) led the way, lifting big weights and showing they've been working hard in the gym over the pre-season.

After breakfast, the touring party assembled outside the AIS for a day of sightseeing. This was the first time the players, officials, support staff, parents and recruiters had all come together, and the parents in particular enjoyed catching up with their lads and spending some time together.

I don't think any of us understood exactly what lay ahead other than that we were visiting a sacred mountain area in Varese, and then travelling across the border into Switzerland for lunch.

The day was absolutely outstanding. The weather was superb and the scenery spectacular. After riding a cable car to the top of snow-capped Monte Generoso we all enjoyed a magnificent meal overlooking the Swiss Alps.

The players especially enjoyed a bit of down time, with snow fights breaking out regularly. For coach Michael O'Loughlin and a couple of the players, it was the first time they had ever seen snow.

After arriving home about 7.00pm the players enjoyed dinner back at the AIS and an early night after the coach warned them tomorrow’s training session would be a tough one.

Day 4, Gavirate, Italy

Well the coach wasn’t joking when he said training today would be tough. To the players’ credit, they embraced the hard work and completed a tough workout with vigour and enthusiasm. There were plenty of bumps and bruises after some spirited competitive drills – the medical team was called upon more than once to help players recover from heavy collisions.

Once again, the recruiters were interested onlookers, scrutinising every kick, mark, handball, tackle and contest during the challenging session. It was good to see the players put through some good, old-fashioned one-on-one competitive drills – it brought back memories of training sessions from the playing days of some of the fathers and recruiters.

After training, the players had a short recovery session back at the AIS and a quick bite for lunch before the entire touring party boarded two buses for a trip into Milan.

The afternoon was free time for the boys. Many took the opportunity to catch up with family again, taking in the sights and sounds of the second biggest city in Italy.

It’s fair to say the experience was an eye opener for all, particularly for some of the lads from small country towns across Australia, such as Underbool, Beaufort (Brad and younger brother Matt Crouch’s hometown), Murray Bridge and Colac.

To think that had brought them to the other side of the world, to one of the world’s major fashion and design cities was a bit surreal. After an afternoon of ‘culture and shopping’ the groups gathered for dinner in Central Milan before boarding the buses for the drive back to Gavirate.

It was another memorable day for all. For the recruiters, it was an invaluable opportunity for us to spend time with the players in a different environment and to learn more about them as people away from the football field.

Tomorrow, we leave Italy and travel to London where the boys will prepare for their game against the European Legion team, who will be coached by Sydney Swans premiership player Tadhg Kennelly.