THE SAINTS were the last AFL club to begin pre-season training, not hitting the track until December 1. Coach Ross Lyon said the late start caused by the grand final replay has caused some unusual circumstances. "It's got some unique challenges about it and the majority have come back in pretty good nick," he said. "There's probably five or six that we would prefer to be in better shape. You adjust the workload according to what they can give."

Medical room: The Saints felt the battering of a 27-week season with a large chunk of their players going under the knife at the end of the year. Justin Koschitzke had ankle surgery while Michael Gardiner will play on despite having to manage a knee injury. Lyon estimated that about 14 players had post-season operations.

Who's burning: Just a week after he was recruited, it was revealed that No.24 draft pick Jamie Cripps had been admitted to a Perth hospital following a diabetes-related attack. But Cripps has put that behind him to impress at Moorabbin. Lyon saved special praise for the defender when asked who had impressed in the brief pre-season to date. "I think they're all going quite well. Cripps is running really strongly for a first-year player," he said.

Draftee watch: Former Cat Ryan Gamble comes to his new club with more life and football experience than most recruits, but he still arrived in Melbourne with just as much uncertainty. Gamble grew up in the South Australian country town of Millicent and spent the past five years as a fringe player with Geelong, so he wasn't too familiar with Melbourne traffic. He said on his first day at the Saints that he had probably been up the highway from Geelong to Melbourne only about 15 times.

Membership: The Saints are aiming for 45,000 members for 2011 after reaching a record 41,163 in 2010. By December 21 the Saints had already signed up 21,075. After two years of grand final appearances, the Saints are pushing their social club membership package to increase the chances of getting a ticket if they make it again.

After the break: The club moves to its new Seaford facility in January after 46 years at Moorabbin. They will still occasionally train at their long-time home but most of the work will be done down the highway.

Telstra Community Camp: The Saints will throw themselves into their new community when they venture down to Frankston for their community camp on February 8. They were based all around the Mornington Peninsula last year as they looked to consolidate their fan base along Melbourne's bayside.

NAB Cup opener: February 18 v Essendon and Brisbane Lions at Etihad Stadium.

What they say: "Those that can do more high-intensity football can do that now and the others need a bit more conditioning work before they get into that. The draw has put things back an extra week and the seniors only had 22 days when they were at the club before Christmas." - senior coach Ross Lyon.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.