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The look of pain and determination on Hayden Ballantyne’s face matched his cries of agony as he willed himself over the finish line with a gut-busting burst that left nothing in the tank.

The pocket-rocket was one of a number of Fremantle Dockers at McGillvray Oval in Claremont today for the first 3km time trials of the 2012 pre-season.

“There was a bit of grunting and groaning going on there,” Ballantyne said.

“I was fairly knackered by the end of it.”

Ballantyne wants some time in the midfield in 2012 and he showed he had improved his ability to run hard and fast for sustained periods.

“Fitness is a big thing for me this year, trying to push up the ground a bit more and get a bigger fitness base in general,” he said.

“I was pretty happy with it.”

Others to impress were Tendai Mzungu, a lean looking Ryan Crowley and Clancee Pearce, who was delisted at the end of the season but is training with the squad in the hope of being picked up in the rookie draft.

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