Leeds United are in Perth for the last leg of their pre-season tour in Australia. The Whites take on Crystal Palace on Friday night and they’ll be spending the next couple of days preparing for that clash at Optus Stadium before boarding the flight for the long journey home.
Here’s what happened on day nine Down Under.
Premier appointment
Despite arriving in Western Australia late on Tuesday night, the Whites were up bright and early on Wednesday for an appointment with the Premier of the state. Jesse Marsch, Patrick Bamford and Dan James were the three players that made the trip to Gage Roads Brewery in Fremantle, a coastal suburb of Perth, and they were greeted by a pack of local and national media, all keen to see Leeds meet with Mark McGowan.
The politician wore a blue and yellow scarf spoke at length about the impact of Leeds’ tour and the Perth Festival of International Football could have on the state as it emerges from lockdown. Marsch then spoke, acknowledging the local indigenous community before discussing how delighted he was to be in Perth.
James and Bamford fielded a couple of questions, too, before the Premier took questions regarding the event and rising Covid cases. While he was doing that, Marsch, Bamford and James took the opportunity to see Fremantle community, which will host all of Leeds’ events this week.
Cappuccino Strip
Fremantle has plenty to offer, including a picturesque coastal line, a harbour and a number of bars and restaurants. However, the main street in the suburb city is a haven for coffee shops and food outlets and for this week only it has been decorated in honour of Leeds.
Blue and white bunting can be seen strung between the buildings and partitions in the middle of the road read, ‘We are Leeds’. The street was full of United fans, taking in their surroundings before heading to the Fremantle Oval to watch and cheer on the club’s third open training session of the tour.
Fremantle fans
Leeds have been well-followed wherever they have been over the last fortnight and Perth looks to be no different. Around 50 or so fans welcomed the Whites to Western Australia at the airport and around 1,000 or so were at the Oval to watch Jesse Marsch put his side through an intense session.
They made plenty of noise, drowning out the sound of a distant kookaburra and their support was well appreciated by Marsch and the players, who made the effort to go over, sign autographs, take pictures and hand out tour t-shirts.
The Whites return to Fremantle today for a Q&A session in Gage Roads Brewery once more.
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