The 2012 pre-season officially kicked off today for the Fremantle Dockers as a group of the club’s first to fourth year players were put through their paces at Fremantle Oval.

There was a mixture of ball work and plain old hard running for the development squad members as new coach Ross Lyon looked on with a keen eye.

A beefed up Stephen Hill was looking as graceful as ever as he bounded through sprint after sprint, while Hayden Ballantyne also presented very well.

Ballantyne signalled in his media conference at Freo HQ today that a more prominent midfield role was his goal for 2012 and he made a good start, looking very quick and fit.

Another to appear in great nick was Zac Clarke, while rookie listed Gavin Roberts, who had his 2011 season ruined by injury, was also out on the track and running freely.

The club’s fifth to seventh year players return next week, while the senior players, including Matthew Pavlich and Aaron Sandilands will be back on deck on Monday 21 November.

For now, there’s sure to be plenty of sweat and hands-on-knees from the boys over the ensuing days and weeks as they prepare for the 2012 season.

CLICK HERE TO SEE A FACEBOOK PICS GALLERY OF TODAY'S TRAINING SESSION