A PAIR of draftees have made strong impressions at their new clubs with GWS rookie Cooper Hamilton smashing the Giants time trial record and No.7 draft pick Josh Ward dominating at Hawthorn.
Hamilton, who was selected with pick No.11 in the NAB AFL Rookie Draft, blitzed the field to break the Giants' club record by a whopping 18 seconds.
Hamilton is a 184cm defender/midfielder who ran the second-fasted time (5.48) ever recorded for a 2km time trial at the NAB AFL Draft Combine earlier this year.
Tim Taranto, who was the defending champion, also broke the record, but had to settle for second place with Josh Kelly rounding out the podium.
Veterans Toby Greene and Lachie Whitfield completed the top five.
"The boys ran really well today. The weather was perfect and the track was really good," Taranto said.
"There was a lot of nervous energy to get that 2km out of the way, but everyone did really well, so I’m glad we were able to get that out of the way early.
"Cooper came out really hard and I tried to hold on with him, but he was way too quick for me today. He helped me run really well though, so I was happy about that."
Almost the entire squad hit the track with Lachlan Keeffe in fine form as he continues his recovery from a ruptured ACL suffered in May, while Brent Daniels also took part after hamstring injuries plagued the back half of his 2021 season.
Meanwhile at the Hawks, Ward was the standout performer as the Hawks conducted a time trial in a new format that saw players run three separate 1km segments with short breaks in between, instead of a traditional 2.2km circuit.
Tom Phillips won the first round, before Ward finished the last two rounds in front of Finn Maginness.
"It was good, but it was bloody tough," Ward said.
"It's a really good feeling once you finish. I thought I'd be a fair way behind Finn, I haven't really been running a huge amount.
"It was good to set the tone and get a few wins."
Changkuoth Jiath, the reigning champion from last year, did not take part in the run.