Lions Vice-Captain Jed Adcock says that in his nine years with the Brisbane Lions, he’s never seen the group in better shape coming off the post-season break.

Adcock, speaking from a community visit with local school students at the Noosa Football Club, said that the attitude that the playing group had brought back from the off-season will be a huge positive going into the tough pre-season ahead.

“It’s my ninth pre-season now and it’s easily been the best, in terms of how the boys have come back after the off-season, in their fitness and training ability,” said Adcock.

“I think if you look at where we are and the attitude amongst the group - even though we didn’t win many games - I think the standard across all facets is a long way from where we were a couple of years ago.”

“Knowing what we can build on for this coming year, it was really exciting to come back.”

Adcock said that the conditions on the Sunshine Coast had been tough, with the temperatures nearing the 30 degree mark as early as 7am.

“We had a good session yesterday morning. It was really hot and really tough and the boys were feeling it but you fight through it and get through it, and off again tomorrow,” he said.

“We’ve been locked up in meetings for a lot of this trip, and I think it will be beneficial - to get all that out of the way so when we get back to Brisbane we can focus really hard on our football skills and fitness.”

On a personal note, Adcock enjoyed a solid year for the Club in 2011 with the downside of a broken finger sidelining him for a short period of time.

In the long-term absence of Jonathan Brown and fellow Vice Captain Daniel Merrett, Adcock shouldered the responsibility of leading the team and believes that he grew as a player.

“It’s been a couple of years now that I’ve been able to stay on the track, apart from my broken finger earlier this year, and it’s been good for me to get that consistency and grow a bit on the field,” he said.

“But footy’s not about the individual. My goal is to play finals footy - individually and the team, that’s the goal. First we want to get in the top eight, then definitely play finals.”

“This will be my ninth season and I’ve only played one finals match. We’ve had two finals appearances in the last seven years so getting to play finals this year is very much the focus.”

The Lions are spending their first week of pre-season at training camp on the Sunshine Coast. Keep an eye on lions.com.au for all the exclusive news, diairies, and video from Noosa.