Fremantle midfielder Adam Cerra understands the hard work ahead of him as he looks to build on his impressive debut season in the AFL.
Following his 21 games in 2018, the 19-year-old said he felt he could deliver more consistently on the field with improved fitness.
“Heading into round one, I’ll be working on my running and putting a bit of weight on,” Cerra said.
“I’ll be working hard on the track and at the gym. Off-field, it’s about eating the right things and doing everything to get into the best shape I possibly can for round one to have a good season again.”
Cerra said a goal of next week’s training camp to the Gold Coast was to impart the game plan to Fremantle’s younger players, with more than half of Fremantle’s list aged 22 or under.
“We’ve simplified the game plan a bit more for next year with us being a young group,” Cerra said.
“Over the next couple of weeks and the rest of the pre-season, we’ll be looking to embed that game plan.”
As a part of Thursday’s program at the club, the playing group undertook a ball skills session, which Cerra said was to help improve hand-eye coordination.
“It’s a small session that isn’t too stressful on the body between our main training sessions,” Cerra said.
“We incorporate other sports, like basketball and use the tennis balls to mix it up, make it a bit more enjoyable and get something new out of it.
“Alex Pearce is surprisingly very good at it. He holds multiple records for a lot of the tests and games that we have so I’ll say he’s the best one at the club.”
Following November’s NAB AFL National Draft, the household of Cerra, Andrew Brayshaw and Hugh Dixon welcomed a new housemate in small forward Lachie Schultz.
“Schultzy’s been great and he loves helping around the house,” Cerra said.
“He’s really motivated to train hard and get the best out of himself, so I’m sure the Freo fans will see a bit of him next year.”