GEELONG forward Tom Hawkins is back in full training for the first time since undergoing off-season knee surgery.

The power forward went under the knife in October to have a piece of his meniscus trimmed after suffering a small tear to it during the 2016 season.

"Tom's going well and he joined back in with the group this week, so he's pretty much in full training now," midfielder Scott Selwood said.

Hawkins trained lightly at Simonds Stadium on Tuesday as the Cats players worked on their individual skills in front of fans at the open training session.

The one-hour session was focused on giving players the chance to work on areas of their game they felt like they needed to improve.

Coach Chris Scott is back at the helm after he was granted compassionate leave following the death of his younger brother Ben in November.

Selwood said Scott's return had been welcomed by all at the club.

"It just shows the class of the footy club when you give people like that the time off that they need," Selwood said.

"Scotty's been brilliant since he's been back, he's been really lively and he's coaching really well."

The Cats face Hawthorn at University of Tasmania Stadium in Launceston in their opening JLT Community Series clash on February 17.

Selwood is enjoying his first proper pre-season at Geelong after being limited by an ankle injury last year.

"We had a team meeting yesterday and we talked about there being only 30 days to go before we get our first real hit-out," Selwood said.

"We've worked since the start of December on a lot of things but we won't know how we're going until we get into the games.

"We think we're going really well but over time and over the course of the year we'll really see if we've improved on those areas."

The Cats have lost key players Jimmy Bartel, Corey Enright and Josh Caddy from last season, while adding defender Zach Tuohy from Carlton and tall forward Aaron Black from North Melbourne. 

Selwood said it would be up to a new wave of Cats to set the tone heading into the 2017 season.

"There's been quite a large turnover in the last three years so we're just trying to stamp our own authority on what we want the Cats to be about and become like the Cats of old," he said.