In addition to combining to great effect at the heart of Perth Glory’s midfield, Jacob Burns and Steven McGarry have also become room-mates during the club’s ongoing pre-season tour of South Africa.
And both seem to be benefitting from the new arrangement, albeit in different ways.
In addition to combining to great effect at the heart of Perth Glory’s midfield, Jacob Burns and Steven McGarry have also become room-mates during the club’s ongoing pre-season tour of South Africa.
And both seem to be benefitting from the new arrangement, albeit in different ways.
“Me and Stevie are in the gym at 7 or 7.30 every morning,” said Burns, “and there’s been quite a transformation.
“I actually think he’s going to have to come down a size in his Glory shirt this year.
“He’s getting that conditioned that he wants everything to be skin tight!
“We’re having a battle with Vuka (Danny Vukovic) and Jamo (Scott Jamieson) who are trying to match us in the gym, but we didn’t see them down there this morning, so they’re clearly letting themselves go.
“We’re also bossing the table tennis and pool tables at the moment.
“We are ranked number one in both of those areas and the other lads, Jamo and Vuka in particular, really need to lift their game.”
Equally keen to emphasise the pair’s level of commitment to the gym, McGarry could not resist firing another friendly broadside in the direction of a certain former Adelaide United defender.
“We’re making a conscious effort to get down to the gym every morning,” said McGarry.
“There’s been a few boys that have tried to keep up with us in terms of the gym, Scott Jamieson being the prime example, but they’ve fallen by the wayside.
“Jamo’s just gone missing.
“Last year I took him under my wing and we worked in the gym together.
“I transformed him really, to the extent that he ended up advertising vacuum cleaners with no shirt on.
“But he thinks he’s made it now and he’s slacked off.
“In terms of rooming with Burnsy, he has some great toiletries so I’m moisturising morning, noon and night and my skin has never looked better.
“But basically he’s more delighted than me because he roomed with Dean Heffernan last year and there was a fight over the mirror,
“Now he can’t believe he’s got all that time in front of it to himself.”
There is one cloud on the horizon, however, for the otherwise perky McGarry and it comes in the form of the ongoing fallout from the recent FoxSports website article listing the most entertaining A-League players on Twitter.
Scott Jamieson claimed first place and Travis Dodd also made the top five, but there was no mention of the man who effectively pioneered the use of the social media site within the Glory playing group.
And he’s still smarting at his shock omission.
“Let’s be honest, who made this top five?”, he snarled.
“Some nerd in the FoxSports news office?
“They put a guy in the top five who doesn’t even play in the A-League anymore (Lloyd Owusu).
“Are they for real?
“Travis is boring and hasn’t got a lot to say.
“He’s an Adelaide legend, a Socceroo and an indigenous ambassador and I’ve still got more followers than him.
“Why’s that?
“Because the people have spoken by choosing to follow the most entertaining tweeter in the A-League and that’s my final word on the subject.”
Both McGarry and Burns are expected to start Sunday’s clash with Tuks FC in Pretoria, but Steve Pantelidis is unlikely to feature until the final game of the tour against SuperSport United.
Perth Glory’s 2013 South Africa tour proudly sponsored by Kaboko Mining, Live2Learn and Europcar
Gareth Morgan
