Australian hypnotist Rick Collingwood says he has been holding sessions with the Town squad for the last month and his work has helped them in their push towards the play-off places.

Collingwood, who is based in Perth, is delighted that his involvement with the Blues has corresponded with a run of decent form: "If you look at the stats there's been a significant improvement and I'm rapt.”

Town apparently heard that Collingwood was in the UK and asked him along to the Playford Road Training Centre where he held two mass hypnotism sessions with the squad.

Collingwood explained how it works: "They all go into a room together and go down into a trance.

"Basically, under direct suggestion they're told they'll perform better, they'll kick harder and more accurately. It enhances their natural capacities. It's just about maximising the inner potential they have already.

"A few were a little cynical and dubious, mainly because hypnotism is a very misunderstood thing.

"But the first thing I said to them was that they are all professional people with the potential to make huge amounts of money. What I do is maximise what they already know. If I can give them a 10 per cent edge, obviously it is worth it."

Collingwood, who has prepared CDs for the players to listen to prior to going to bed, has previously worked with a number of top cyclists.

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