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

Introduction
After reaching the preliminary final in 2011, Hawthorn was one of the last clubs to start pre-season training. A group of 10 players, plus coaches Alastair Clarkson and Luke Beveridge and a contingent of officials and sponsors, trekked the Kokoda Track in mid-November, the club's fourth trip to the historic site. The entire playing group checked back in at Waverley on November 21 for the start of an intense five-week pre-Christmas training block, rounded off with a week-long camp on the Sunshine Coast.

Medical room
Good news for Stephen Gilham (knee) and Jarryd Roughead (achilles), with both making steady progress in their recovery from serious injuries. After a long period of rehabilitation and running, Gilham was re-introduced into skills training on the Sunshine Coast training camp. Roughead was allowed to start running a fortnight before Christmas. Recruit Jack Gunston was eased into training after his final season at Adelaide took a toll on his body, but has now freshened up and is back into full work.

Summer superstar
Head fitness coach Andrew Russell nominated Luke Breust as a standout of the pre-season so far, saying the young small forward has elevated himself to another level. Liam Shiels has impressed with his hard running and work ethic, and backman Ryan Schoenmakers has made big gains in strength.

Draftee watch
The first few weeks for Hawthorn's new faces have been about finding limits and getting accustomed to a full-time workload. November draftees Jordan Kelly, Alex Woodward and Brad Hill have reportedly all settled in well. Mature-age rookies Broc McCauley and Adam Pattison should be ready to step straight in and offer support in the big man department if needed, with 23-year-old lightning bolt Amos Frank still a bit of an unknown having come from remote South Australia.

Putting the feet up
The conclusion of the Sunshine Coast camp on December 22 marked the end of the Hawks' 2011 duties. They'll be back on the track at Waverley Park on January 4.

Membership
Hawthorn went past 40,000 members just before Christmas, a 3000 increase on the same time last year, which includes 600 more members in Tasmania. This year's theme, 'Always Hawthorn', was sparked by club legend Leigh Matthews' comment that he will always see himself as a Hawthorn person, despite having coached Collingwood and the Brisbane Lions to premierships.

NAB Cup schedule
Round one (Friday, February 17): v North Melbourne and Richmond, Etihad Stadium
Round two (Saturday, March 3): v Greater Western Sydney, Aurora Stadium
Round three (Saturday, March 10): v Melbourne, Etihad Stadium

What they say
"When you've got a more inexperienced group you might have 20 to 25 players who you can really push to their limits. We're in a situation where we feel we've got 30 to 35 players who can handle the really high performance-based training that you need your group to do to win premierships. It means you can be more aggressive; you know the players' limits." - Head fitness coach Andrew Russell.

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