STAR Sydney Swans midfielder Dan Hannebery could be set to take his game to another level after finishing an impressive second behind running machine Jack Hiscox in the team's first time trial of 2016 on Monday.
Hiscox and Hannebery beat home defender Dane Rampe, and midfielders Dan Robinson and Harry Cunningham in the Swans' post-Christmas 3km workout around the Centennial Parklands in warm conditions.
Former under-age national 800m champion and Swans' academy product Hiscox has dominated the club's endurance testing since arriving in 2014, but it's the effort of gun midfielder Hannebery that would have coach John Longmire rubbing his hands together.
In the Swans' first time trial in early December - again won by Hiscox - Hannebery failed to finish inside the top five, but has returned from the Christmas break in fantastic shape.
Hannebery has had issues with his conditioning in the past during off-season breaks, but over the past two years the 24-year-old has re-established himself as one of the League's elite on-ballers.
The 2015 All Australian wingman - his second AA honour - had a stellar season when he took out the AFL Coaches Association's MVP Award, finished fifth in the Brownlow Medal behind winner Nat Fyfe with 24 votes, and came a close second to Josh Kennedy in the Bob Skilton Medal count.
Hannebery bounced back from a frustrating 2014 season where he missed six games with an ankle injury to lead the League for disposals after the regular season, and finished the year with 720 possessions at an average of 30 per game.
The classy midfielder re-signed with the Swans last year and is now contracted to the club until the end of the 2021 season.
