Seven Richmond players recorded personal best times during this morning’s time trial on the Tan Track at the Botanical Gardens.
The Tigers were tested immediately on their first day of training for 2011 with a series of endurance and sprint running training at the Tan, and football drills at Punt Road Oval.
Matthew White was the quickest over the 3.8km course, with Ben Jakobi and Bachar Houli filling the minor placings.
“The guys over the pre season have been really impressive. We’re really happy with where they’re at,” Richmond coach Damien Hardwick said.
“To come back and have seven PBs is a terrific result, and a credit to our playing group.”
Hardwick said the focus of the season had shifted after a heavy year of education for the young players in 2010.
“Probably last year it was about teaching our guys how we wanted them to play. This year we’ve dropped that off a bit because they’ve got a fair understanding of it,” he said.
“We wanted to put on a fair bit of weight with some of our guys, but also get them a lot fitter as well.
“We’ve still got a lot of football learning to do. We made some terrific inroads towards the end of last year…but we’ve still got a long way to go.
“Regardless of ladder position, it’s all about just improving. If we get incremental improvement in the players, that’s when we start to make progress.
“We have a hell of a lot of work to do. We’re making small steps, which is positive.”