Vice-Captain Daniel Rich believes a permanent shift back to the midfield and a new off-season fitness regimen has him poised to recapture his best football for the Brisbane Lions.

Rich missed most of 2014 after requiring a knee reconstruction following the Round 3 loss to Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium.

Most, if not all, footballers struggle to reclaim their peak form in the first season after an ACL injury.

The 2009 Rising Star winner was no different.

He averaged almost 20 touches a game but noticeably lacked zip and his normal game-changing, line-breaking impact in his new role off the halfback flank.

“In terms of my own personal standards, it was a disappointing year,’’ Rich said.

“I wasn’t able to get any sort of consistency in my game. It was a bit of everything really.

“I didn’t know what to expect coming off my knee.

“I know most guys struggle a little bit after they get a reco but as a whole I wasn’t happy with how I played.

“But on the positive side, I was able to get some confidence back in my knee by playing every game bar one and I learned to play a new position so it was a year that was tough but I learned a lot.’’

Rich reported back to pre-season training ahead of schedule for a handful of sessions with the club’s young cubs after completing his first triathlon during his break.

He chose the biggest of them all – the Noosa Triathlon – to make his debut in the sport.

“It was good for me both mentally and physically. I’ve been in the AFL system for seven or eight years and have done seven or eight pre-seasons which are all pretty similar,’’ Rich said.

“It was good to aim at an event and train-up for something other than day one of pre-season. The different sort of cross-training stuff really freshened me up.

“It was good to get back to the club and get amongst it with the young blokes. You get a bit of white-line fever towards the end of your break.’’

The hard yards over summer will come in handy as Rich eyes a spot in the Brisbane midfield.

“It is a really good midfield group that we’ve got coming together. It’s an exciting time,’’ he said.

“I’ve been doing most of my training with the midfield group so that’s the plan in the short-term. It’s good to have that versatility to drop back to halfback but I’m looking forward to getting back in the midfield.’’