During the Christmas/New Year break, AFL.com.au looks at each club and how they're tracking for the 2011 pre-season

Introduction
Richmond became the latest club to embark on an overseas pre-season trip when the Tigers flew to the United States in late November. Damien Hardwick and his men spent a week using the facilities of Athletes Performance, a business that runs a world-class training complex in Phoenix, Arizona. While there, the players watched NHL ice hockey team the Phoenix Coyotes in action, then saw the Arizona Cardinals play the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL.
 
Medical room
Trent Cotchin only returned to full training in mid-December after hip surgery in September. Cotchin, who won the Tigers' 2011 best-and-fairest, was one of around 20 players, including star forward Jack Riewoldt, who were on restricted duties during the camp in Arizona. Cotchin told the Herald Sun that his injury was just "wear and tear". He added: "It wasn't really troubling me, but we just thought we'd get it done earlier rather than later and not let it become a problem next year."
 
Summer superstar
Midfielder Shane Edwards has emerged as the star performer in the early weeks of Richmond's pre-season. The 23-year-old, who has played 89 games in five seasons, has impressed his coaches and teammates by gaining strength and fitness. "[Putting weight on] was a focus for a lot of the guys, the skinnier guys," Tigers skipper Chris Newman said before the playing squad departed for the camp in the United States. "Shane Edwards has put a lot of time and effort into his bodyweight. I think he's come back about three or four kilos heavier."
 
Draftee watch
The three players selected by the Tigers in the NAB AFL Draft - Brandon Ellis, Todd Elton and Matthew Arnot - had little time to adjust to their new surroundings, as only four days after being selected, they were on the plane to the USA. Ellis, a strong midfielder who was taken with pick 15, has been particularly impressive at training to date, and club insiders say he should play a number of senior games in 2012.
 
Putting the feet up
The Tigers completed their pre-Christmas training block with a final session on December 22. They return to training on January 5.
 
Membership
Richmond is targeting 50,000 members in 2012 (it fell just short of that figure in 2011), and has gone with 'Roar Pride, Roar Passion, Roar Power' as its slogan. The positive vibe around the club has already translated into a good couple of months for the membership department, with almost 29,000 fans signing up so far.
 
NAB Cup schedule:
Round one (Friday, February 17): v Hawthorn and North Melbourne, Etihad Stadium
Round two (Sunday, March 4: v Fremantle, Patersons Stadium
Round three (Saturday, March 10): v Geelong, Simonds Stadium
 
What they say
"We're still a fair way off those top four to five sides - and that's an area where we want to improve. We'd love to beat one of those sides next year. It is one of our goals and we've fallen well short of that over the past two years. I reckon we were between 30 and 60 points off those sides. And when a side is starting to mature you want to knock off one of those guys and that's one thing we are looking to do next year." - Richmond coach Damien Hardwick, Herald Sun, December 4

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