Fremantle’s second to fourth year players returned to training on Monday morning for their first official training session of the 2021 pre-season.

The session also saw Nathan Wilson, Ethan Hughes and Connor Blakely make early returns to training while Darcy Tucker also made an early return to continue his rehabilitation from a hamstring injury.

Perth turned up the heat for the session with not a cloud to be seen in the sky and the temperature gauge well above 25 degrees before 9am.

As the players warmed up we saw glimpses of the work that had been put in over the off-season. Caleb Serong and Mitch Crowden looked fit and firing and Griffin Logue, Sam Switkowski and Hayden Young all looked to be moving well following their injuries throughout the 2020 season.

Despite having a cast on his right arm after off-season wrist surgery, Taylin Duman was still involved in the first 20 minutes before moving off to join Tucker and Sam Sturt in rehabilitation as they broke off to work on their individual fitness.

The session saw newly appointed assistant coach Matthew Boyd and development coach Tendai Mzungu involved in their first session with the players, taking the reins at different stages throughout the morning to run their own drills.

After a short warm up, the players moved straight into a handball drill that focused on quick, offensive ball movement. Wilson showed great pace and looked to be moving well while Caleb Serong looked smooth with his movement and clean hands.

Liam Henry appeared to have put on a bit of size and had a strong impact with his quick hands and foot work as the group opened up into a wider kicking drill.

There was a strong emphasis on fitness and skills for the young players, the intensity was high, and senior coach Justin Longmuir made sure that if something wasn’t done right, the players repeated the drill until it was.

Connor Blakely was keen to impress, working hard off the ball and using it well by foot when he had it.

The players came in for a brief drink break and were soon back out and split into two teams for the next drill, which focused on ball movement through the corridor.

Working man-on-man, the players had to move the ball from one end to the other with short, sharp kicks and good decision making. Again, Longmuir stepped in to stop the drill if something wasn’t done right and the players had to reset.

The group was undoubtedly excited to be back at training. Players were constantly using their voice really well and supporting each other through celebration or constructive feedback and many of Freo’s youngsters stepped up to show leadership all over the ground.

Finally, the boys finished off the session by putting the footy’s down and working on their fitness in small groups to round out what was a positive return to training.