ADELAIDE defender Brodie Smith has abandoned his quest to move into the midfield, focusing instead on catapulting the Crows out of the backline with his booming kick.

While he's still training with the midfielders during the pre-season, Smith concedes his strength to the team lies in his ability to create play from the back-line.

"I'm pretty comfortable across half-back," Smith said.

"When you look at our midfield, it's pretty strong. I'll play a little bit on the wing as well. That half-back, wing role is where I'll play most of my footy.

"I'll keep working on the midfield stuff so when the time comes I can go inside as well."

The Crows are aiming to have more versatility this season to follow the path set out by the Western Bulldogs and Sydney.

Rory Laird, Curtly Hampton and Scott Thompson are among those who have indicated a desire to change roles.

Smith has long been touted for a move into the midfield where his electric pace can be an asset.

"Every year I do a bit of work in both groups, the majority in the backs," he said.

"I spent a few years trying to get in there now.

"We've spoken about that versatility in the group and guys being able to play multiple roles.

"Everyone is spending time in different groups, so when it comes to game day we can switch a bit."

The Crows returned to training at Football Park on Monday after the Christmas break with a challenging 2km time trial.

Riley Knight continued his impressive pre-season to take the honours among the midfielders.

Defender Jake Kelly and ruckman/forward Paul Hunter also won their respective groups.

"It was a pretty tough one," Smith said.

"(We) started the day with a time trial then they sprung some more conditioning on us at the end of training.

"There were some really good times in the time trial, which was pleasing.

"With the majority of the group only having three weeks before Christmas, we spoke about the importance of getting our work in over the break."

Forwards Josh Jenkins and Tom Lynch continued their recovery from respective ankle and knee operations with an increased involvement in training.

Both players took part in football drills for the first time in a step up from what they were doing before the break.

Defenders Kyle Cheney, Luke Brown, Paul Seedsman and Alex Keath are also on modified programs.