RUNNING machine Tom Phillips has defended his crown as Collingwood's time trial champion, once again taking out the 2km race at the Holden Centre on Monday.

Impressively, big man Max Lynch and draftee Isaac Quaynor rounded out the top three, while Brody Mihocek and James Aish weren't far behind.

Since being drafted at No.58 in 2015, Phillips has never been beaten, so it's little wonder he was enthused when speaking to collingwoodfc.com.au after the run.

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"It's good to have the full squad. Everyone looks pretty revitalised and fresh. It's looking pretty good," Phillips said.

"You've got to have the 2k-er on the first day back – it was nice.

"We've only got two weeks and then the three-week Christmas break, and then we're back into it on the flipside next year. I think everyone's pretty fresh and ready to go in the next two weeks.

"It's not like we’ve been back since the end of October. We've had a good break, everyone's pretty fresh in the mind and in the body."

Lynch stands 200cm and is yet to play a game while Quaynor was drafted at pick No.13 last month as a Next Generation Academy selection.

All 46 players on the list were present at training, although not all took part in the race.