Fremantle returned to Victor George Kailis Oval on Monday for their first training session in more than eight weeks as Freo ramped up for the resumption of the season in mid-June.
In essence, it was still football training, albeit with number of restrictions.
Players spent the day in groups of up to seven and one assistant coach.
The sessions were strictly non-contact and the club was limited to two groups on the field at any time, separated by a 20-metre zone in the middle of the ground.
Group one was primarily midfield players and was highlighted by Blake Acres’ return from a hamstring injury. He worked alongside fellow mids Nat Fyfe, David Mundy, Michael Walters, Brett Bewley, Darcy Tucker and Connor Blakely.
Group two primarily consisted of defenders Nathan Wilson, Griffin Logue, Tobe Watson and Brennan Cox, as well as versatile midfielder Travis Colyer and forward Rory Lobb.
Due to the limited nature of the training, the sessions were mostly limited to running, kicking, and drills that focused on ball movement.
Senior coach Justin Longmuir supervised both groups from the middle of the ground and continued to give advice from a distance.
After their one-hour session, the two groups left the field and rotated through gym work, flexibility and game plan meetings.
Group three saw the return of Jesse Hogan, alongside fellow forwards Brandon Matera and Bailey Banfield and defenders Reece Conca, Luke Ryan and Taylin Duman.
Stefan Giro made his return to training from an ACL in a young group four, working alongside Mitch Crowden, Michael Frederick, Tom North, Jason Carter, Luke Valente and Jarvis Pina.
Joel Hamling, Alex Pearce and Sam Switkowski completed their separate injury rehabilitation sessions as a part of group five while Stephen Hill, Liam Henry, Hugh Dixon, Dillon O’Reilly, Isaiah Butters and Leno Thomas trained in group six.
Ten other Fremantle players competed their training in pairs later in the day, with James Aish, Andrew Brayshaw, Adam Cerra, Sean Darcy, Lloyd Meek, Lachie Schultz, Sam Sturt, Caleb Serong, Matt Taberner and Hayden Young still completing their mandatory 14-day self-isolation since their arrival in WA.
Acres said he wasn’t bothered by the restrictions and was just thrilled to be back around his teammates.
“There was no contact, we had to keep our distance from each other. It was a bit different but we were able to make it work and the boys had a good first session back,” Acres said.
“For us to get out here and kick the footy and be around each other again, there’s a positive in that.
“Hopefully, in the coming weeks we can ramp things up and come 11 June, we can start playing games again.
“It’s been about six to eight weeks where we haven’t really seen each other in person, we’ve just been on video conferences talking to each other.
“To get out here again has been awesome.”
Acres said he had recovered fully from the hamstring injury.
“It was obviously the first session back for me, I’d been right for about two or three weeks now,” Acres said.
“It was just a little test for me to get out there and start kicking a bit more and do everything at a higher tempo, which was good.
“Hopefully, I can keep building now and be right for the games.
“All the guys are just keen to get over there (to the Gold Coast) and play footy, not just for the team but for the fans and the community.
“Once footy gets back on again, it brings a bit of normality back to life and I know all the guys are keen to get out there and give it a good crack.”
