In Part One of his exclusive Season Wrap video on LIONS TV, Senior Coach Michael Voss reflected on the Club’s positive 2012 pre-season.

After a disappointing 2011 campaign, Voss said the team made some real improvements in their professional standards over summer.

“Fortunately I think that our group came back in pretty fantastic condition,” Voss told LIONS TV.

“Our pre-season was really successful. We had most of our players available - 77% of our list completed most training sessions.”

“We were 2-2 after four rounds - and that’s a good start as far as I’m concerned - but the next three rounds were rather disappointing against sides like Essendon, Geelong and Collingwood,” he said.

“That’s when we sort of probably took a bit of a limp through the season.”

Voss made particular mention of Daniel Rich and Richard Newell who he believed set the standard during the pre-season.

“Richard Newell was very impressive through pre-season, and Daniel Rich had a very good pre-season,” Voss said.

“They were probably the two standouts for me - and that probably reflected in their seasons in the end.”

Rich’s hard work paid off with a career-best season in 2012 which culminated in him finishing Runner-Up in the Club’s Best and Fairest award.

Newell, meanwhile, made some significant gains in his first year on the Club’s Rookie List.

The former NSW/ACT Scholarship Player was a valuable member of the all-conquering Lions Reserves side, until shoulder surgery sidelined him on the eve of the NEAFL Finals.

No doubt both Rich and Newell will be used as prime examples of how valuable pre-season training can be as the Club prepares for 2013.