After pre-season surgery cost him the first half of this year, a fit Ivan Maric is looking towards a full summer program and starting 2015 on time.

The 28-year-old Richmond ruckman battled through last pre-season after groin surgery forced him onto a modified program early on.

Then he needed an operation to remove bone spurs in his right ankle in February.

He didn't play until round 11, after missing all of the Tigers' pre-season games, and was sorely missed with his team winning just three of their first nine matches.

Renew or join as a Richmond member for the 2015 season

However he has started the 2015 pre-season early – pitching in with some sessions with the Tigers' younger players last week – and is injury free ahead of his fourth season at the club.  

"I've had no operations in the pre-season and I'm fully training and feeling pretty strong and fit," Maric told Roar Vision this week.

It's no secret the Tigers battled without their No.1 big man, as well as forward Brett Deledio and backman Alex Rance, who were also struggling with injuries when Maric was out.

The upside was it allowed Ben Griffiths to emerge as a genuine back-up ruck contender and Shaun Hampson to get some early games in his first season at the club.

But Maric’s importance to the club was underlined when he returned and the Tigers went on a nine-game winning streak soon after.

"We certainly missed him," football manager Dan Richardson told richmondfc.com.au.

"Hopefully he'll come back and pick up where he left off this year, which was with really solid form."

Maric said the focus for this pre-season – and next year – was to ensure that the tardy start to the 2014 season didn’t happen again.

"It's just about maintaining the standards that we set last year," he said.

"We really improved everything around the club and we just need to have the stamina to maintain it.

"Everyone's doing it but it just comes down to who can maintain the standards for the longest."

The full list is now back training after the return of the first-to-fourth year players two weeks ago.