ESSENDON veteran James Kelly hopes to continue his injury-free run in 2017, after getting through last season unscathed.
The triple-premiership Cat joined Essendon in January last year as a top-up player.
After a limited preparation, the 33-year-old managed to play 20 games in season 2016, after being rested for just two matches.
Kelly admitted he was surprised he was able to string so many games together.
"I was expecting to break down at some stage, I’d sort of factored that into my preparation for the year and fortunately I didn’t," Kelly told the club's website.
"I felt I worked hard on it throughout the year, as well as working with 'Woosha' (coach John Worsfold) and 'Crowy' (high performance manager Justin Crow) to manage my loads really well.
"I was really thankful I got through the season the way I did."
Kelly signed on with the Bombers for another season in October last year.
His injury-free 2016 has prepared him well for yet another pre-season, with the veteran in full training before the Christmas break.
The return of the banned players, and the addition of the latest batch of draftees and recruits has Essendon's Tullamarine base buzzing.
"Everyone is training and more numbers on the track makes training easier and more fun," Kelly said.
"If anything, there are just more voices around the place. I still try to talk and contribute wherever I can, but this year with the guys coming back, there is just more people talking which is great for the group.
"The guys that grew up a bit last year with the senior players missing are still there as well, so we’ve got this really good spread of players who are contributing.
"There are always conversations after every drill and every meeting about how we want to play and the way we want to play which is fantastic for the group."
Kelly and his teammates will return from their break on January 5.
The Bombers kick off the JLT community series on February 16 against Collingwood at Etihad Stadium
