Just a touch of rivalry for Jack and Jess

THE 50th anniversary of Zatopek 10 on Thursday night looms as the last time the great race will be held at Olympic Park, if Premier Ted Baillieu follows through on the former Labor government's promise to build a new track in Albert Park.

Melbourne Football Club will be one of the new occupants at Olympic Park, a move that has sparked mixed emotions between the Trengove siblings-- emerging Demons star Jack and his sister Jess, one of the favourites to win the women's 10,000 metres on Thursday.

As Jess says with a laugh, the Demons are ''booting us off'' the famous venue.

Jess has had a busy schedule, having just returned from the Chiba Ekiden relay in Japan and the world half-marathon in Nanning, China (at same time as Melbourne was playing an exhibition match against Brisbane Lions in Shanghai, although she didn't get there). In Nanning she came 24th and was part of the team that finished fourth.

Her aim on Thursday is to notch a personal-best time.

''I'd dearly love to get a PB again, lucky to have got one last year. Aim for top five, put myself up there and see how long I can hold on for,'' she says.

Her main rivals are expected to be Lara Tamsett and Eloise Wellings.

So, given that she runs between 120 and 140 kilometres a week in full training, does she compare training notes with Jack?

''We do a little bit. He was in Adelaide for a short period in his break, and we did go for a jog together then. I'm catching up with him for the weekend following Zatopek, which will be good,'' Jess says.

''We generally just keep it to a jog. We both know we've got quite different strengths with our running - he's building on the stop-start stuff, I'm working on the 'just keep going for as long as I can'.

''As we're growing up, we're becoming less competitive [but] I always make sure I'm up by his shoulder when we have a jog. Maybe just quietly we're trying to keep right by the other's side, but we don't say anything.

''He did well in his fitness test the other day, so he was quick to call us and let us know how he went.''

The men's race on Thursday will feature the fastest man in the world over 10 kilometres on the track this year, Kenyan Josphat Menjo.

The runaway Roo

BEFORE he was the controversial founder of WikiLeaks and a man sought by Swedish authorities over sexual assault allegations, Julian Assange was said to be a keen North Melbourne supporter.

A Kangaroos supporter claimed on a post on bigfooty.com.au last week that a good mate of his had known Assange quite well during the Wayne Carey era.

''Suffice to say though, my mate used to take Julian to games, especially Friday night games. I wouldn't say that Julian is an out-and-out footy fanatic, being a fairly sensitive soul, but I do know he enjoyed those games enough to the point where my mate bought him a North membership as a present one year. It was, as we know, a great time to be a North supporter and my mate says that more than anything, Julian loved the sense of occasion, the MCG on a Friday night, some beers afterwards, head off to techno club afterwards, that sort of stuff.''

The Kangaroos last week said they were 5000 members up on this time last year. Once Assange's new home is settled upon by authorities, perhaps the Kangaroos could send him a membership form just to test his loyalty.

Shades of 'Bevo'

MICHAEL Clarke's troubles playing the short balls have clearly started to impact on his confidence and footwork when attempting to drive - as seen in the first innings in Adelaide. He's far from the first batsman to have this problem, something Michael Bevan, more remembered for his brilliant one-day international career than Test exploits, can relate to. Bevan's troubles with the short ball were well documented in the mid-1990s and exploited by England in 1994-95 and on the 1997 Ashes tour. In an interview with Cricinfo, ''Bevo'' recalls his frustration. ''I couldn't work it out at the time because I'd never really had an issue with it in the past but the more it happened, the more of an issue it became. I don't think I helped myself. I probably put too much focus on trying to play it well and gave it too much priority. I probably lacked a little belief that I could play it, even though a first-class average of 60 would suggest that it shouldn't have been a problem. I think in the end that my problems at Test level were more psychological than anything physical or technical.'' It wasn't only Bevan who was frustrated. On the eve of the '94-95 Ashes, his manager at the time rang an Australian journalist to gloat that Bevan had been picked in the Test side despite the negative headlines about his inability to hook. Like Bevan, however, his timing wasn't great as he was caught off a mistimed pull shot in the Brisbane opener.

Bulldogs on the rise

THE Western Bulldogs have begun training in Queenstown, New Zealand, as part of a week-long camp the club hopes will provide a springboard for its 2011 campaign.

All senior players have made the trip, although 2008 Brownlow medallist Adam Cooney and full-back Brian Lake will be on modified programs as they recover from injury.

The Bulldogs have already created a splash, with the local newspaper, the Mountain Scene, referring to them as ''hunky Aussie Rules'' players, although ''girls and grog are out'' on this adventure camp.

The Bulldogs will have a busy week, joining in jetboating, a canyon swing, hiking, frisbee golf and, according to the Scene, ''chowing down a traditional Maori hangi''.

And, of course, there will be plenty of football drills.

The squad will also embark on a day-long adventure race on Friday - white-water rafting, mountain biking, trekking and problem solving finishing on top of the Bob's Peak gondola.

Bulldogs football manager James Fantasia said the high-altitude camp would benefit players. "We're hoping that the experience and the camp give us a great start to our year and perhaps gives us an edge and determination about where we're going," he said.

Improving fitness at high altitude has become increasingly popular with AFL clubs. Collingwood (Arizona), North Melbourne (Utah) and Hawthorn (Christchurch) have recently completed trips.