Aaron Sandilands has been so impressed by Fremantle’s pre-season training form, he’s urging Fremantle members and supporters to come down to a session at Fremantle Oval.
Sandilands has also been impressed by Fremantle’s new recruits, including key forward Cam McCarthy, running midfielder Bradley Hill and new draftees Griffin Logue and Sean Darcy.
‘We’ve got some fresh faces and everyone’s up and about, excited and trying to improve,” Sandilands said to media on Friday morning.
“Come down and watch us train, we’ve got a really exciting group. We’re striving to become a strong football club again and the work’s being done.”
Sandilands also responded to questions about whether Shane Yarran's off-field matter had the potential to be a distraction.
“Not at all. We have had a really strong culture over a long time now,” Sandilands said.
“We have obviously had a couple of hiccups. We are not distracted. We are training really strong and training really well and we’re keen to improve because we know we weren’t good enough last year.”
“We feel we have got a really strong culture. I think that has been our strength over the last few years. That we have been a really strong club.”
2016 was a challenging season for Sandilands. Freo’s number one ruckman suffered fractured ribs and a punctured lung in round three, missing most of the season.
It was a lean and fit Sandilands who fronted the media, and he gave a good assessment of his preparations for a big 2017 season.
“I’m 100 per cent. I had a really good off-season,” Sandilands said.
“I’ve come back fit and been able to do a majority of the work so far. I’m back to normal and have no issues (with my ribs) at all.”
Sandilands’ figure was imposing as ever, even after admitting he’d lost some weight as he focuses on increasing his running capacity.
“I’m feeling really good and getting a few kilometres in the legs, which is really important,” Sandilands said.
“I’m about where I need to be, it’s been a pretty solid start to training, so the weight does drop.
“It’s really important for us at the moment to get the numbers on the park and become fit and available. When we are fit it puts us in pretty good stead, and that’s our main focus at the moment.”
Fremantle fans are welcome to come and watch training next week at Fremantle Oval on Monday 12 December, Wednesday 14 December and Friday 16 December, with all sessions due to start at 9am.
