As far as off-seasons go, Lee Spurr’s was surely the most eventful.
On 16 November, Lee and wife Olivia welcomed Isla Rae Spurr into the world, and the new father couldn’t be happier.
“With the birth of our first child, it’s really exciting,” Spurr said.
“Olivia and I had a little girl last Wednesday and I’m really excited for us and really happy.
“We’re just settling in at home now and getting used to running on three hours sleep.”
Lee Spurr with baby Isla. Pic: Olivia Spurr
Fatherhood is an entirely new experience to the 29-year-old, but Spurr has no shortage of fellow “Docker dads” to lean on for advice.
“I don’t really know what I’m doing, I’ve never changed a nappy before so it’s all been a steep learning curve,” Spurr said.
“I think I’m doing well, but if you asked me the same question in six week’s time I’d really be able to tell you how I’m going.
“Plenty of the boys have given me advice, they’ve told me to get into a routine early, that’s been their major piece of advice for me. I’ve been working on that at home with Liv, but I don’t want to push too hard so it’s not too hard on them."
Baby Isla also opens up a world of potential father-child outings with his teammates.
“I’ve caught up with Daws (Zac Dawson) already and his little daughter Scarlett,” Spurr said.
“So I’m looking forward to maybe in the future having a little Sunday lunch, me and Daws together, that’ll be fun.”
While you can forgive any new dad for becoming completely infatuated with family life, Spurr hasn’t let go of his on-field motivations or obligations as pre-season kicks off.
Spurr was at his consistent best in 2016, and he see’s a lot of positive signs after the full group came back together at the start of the week.
“It’s been a really strong off-season for us, and I think we all went away and worked hard,” Spurr said.
“We’ve been back a week now and all the boys have bought in and everyone’s come back in good shape. Now the real work starts, everyone getting together and pushing towards what we need to do.
“It was really hot on Friday, and that was the first test, but I didn’t hear one person complain about the heat so that’s always a good sign.”
