ESSENDON'S players have copped an unpleasant surprise on their second day back at pre-season training, with coach James Hird springing back-to-back time trials on his charges.
 
The exhausted Bombers were still recovering from their first gut-busting 2km run at Princes Park on Thursday when Hird announced they had to back-up for another gruelling fitness test.
 
Elite runner Patrick Ambrose took out both races, ahead of Elliott Kavanagh and veteran midfielder Brent Stanton.
 
Rising star Joe Daniher, sporting a newly-shaven head, was pushed to his limits and was physically ill afterwards.
 
It wasn't the first time Hird has surprised the Bombers with back-to-back time trials, but Stanton said the players handled it much better second time around.
 
"Hirdy did it to us four years ago and the mindset was not too flash and we probably stewed on it too long," he told the club's website.
 
"The mindset of this football team at the moment, that's the most impressive thing, is that the young guys really build up the older guys.
 
"We just cracked in and did it. We tried to set a time that everyone had to get into and it was a great result that the boys really pushed each other through."
 
Ambrose hung onto his crown as Essendon's No.1 runner but said the competition is heating up.
 
"It was good to come first again but Kav was hot on my heels and Stants was close behind," he said.
 
"It's definitely a lot more competitive than last year. Everyone's looking fit and progressing from the past few years."
 
Into his 13th pre-season, 226-gamer Stanton said the Bombers are trying to lift their off-field standards in a bid to match the League's "great teams".
 
"In the last couple of years we've wanted to be a fit football team and a resilient one," he said.
 
"I think we've shown that on the field, but off-field we just need to get that mindset that the great teams have.
 
"Pretty much all I said is that 'You're not going to get through this by yourself – it's a team effort'.
 
"That's what it comes down to in the middle of the MCG in September and that's where we want to get to."
 
Top Ten (same for both time trials)
Patrick Ambrose
Elliott Kavanagh
Brent Stanton
Nick O’Brien
Jackson Merrett
Ariel Steinberg
Orazio Fantasia
Jake Melksham
David Zaharakis
Dyson Heppell