The Brisbane Lions players officially recommenced pre-season training on Monday morning after enjoying a two-week break over the festive season.

But unlike much of the general workforce, there was no easing back into things after the New Year.

Instead, training picked up where it had left off before Christmas with the Lions players undertaking a series of fitness tests and skills work.

Midfielder Daniel Rich said the players made a welcome return to the track, and were all eager to continue the momentum that the Club built at the end of 2012.

“It’s good to be back with the boys and getting back into it,” Rich said.

“We finished last year quite well, and we have brought that into the pre-season and things are looking good.”

“We had a pretty successful first couple of months back, but it’s now about building on that and getting into game mode.”

Rich said some of the biggest improvements had come from his younger teammates, who seem to be benefiting from a solid fitness base built over the past couple of seasons.

“We’ve got a pretty young group, but most of them have had one, two or three years in the system now,” Rich said.

“They’ve got that base, so now they can kind of step up. You can see it on the training track – the young guys are training really well and pushing the older guys to lift. It’s great for the footy club.”

“There’s a lot more input from everyone – and not just the senior players. We’ve got young guys like Mitch Golby, Ryan Harwood, Claye Beams, Rohan Bewick and Sam Docherty, just to name a couple, who are all driving the standards at training and not leaving it up to the other guys.”