TIME trials, long runs, three-hour sessions, weights, sweat, sun. They are all realities of an AFL pre-season.  

But what else goes on in a player's pre-season campaign? And how does it differ for each individual player? What is the split in fitness and education? How involved are the coaches and how important is getting this time of the year right? 

AFL.com.au spent last week inside Port Adelaide, having full access to the Power's training sessions, team meetings and coach preparations at Alberton Oval as the club gets set for 2023.

Through the eyes of youngster Josh Sinn, emerging star Todd Marshall and veteran ruckman Scott Lycett, here is an insight into what goes into a pre-season and how things evolve from the start of a career to the middle and then back end. 

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JOSH Sinn remembers how quickly he found what an AFL pre-season would be like. Just two weeks into his career after being a first-round pick for Port Adelaide at the 2021 NAB AFL Draft, the speedy left-footer felt the full force of a Sam Powell-Pepper tackle.

"He rag-dolled me. There's a good photo of it. I got a bit of stick for it," Sinn said. "I knew pre-season was going to be tough but I didn't really understand how physical the training would be. We pretty much go after each other every session and train very physically. I didn't realise I'd get smacked around a bit."

Sinn made his AFL debut in round two last season, but had his year cut short by ongoing groin issues, which eventually led to surgery. It has affected his second pre-season, with Sinn progressing his running in January with an aim to be back into full training by February. But he has made sure he still gets the most out of his weeks.

In the Power's second week back from Christmas, Sinn stepped up his speed work at Monday's session, ran about eight to nine kilometres at Wednesday's session and was again pushing through laps on Friday's training run. The Power generally have Thursdays off during the pre-season, while Tuesday is a day more of education and smaller craft groups.

Last week, that started with new midfield coach and 2004 Port premiership player Josh Carr leading the full list through how he wanted to set up around certain structures. It was a short meeting held in the Power's make-shift marquee while their headquarters are redeveloped, with coach Ken Hinkley sitting at the back watching on.

Developing midfielder Jackson Mead, in the front row, responded to some questions, as did leader and Brownlow medallist Ollie Wines and experienced forward Orazio Fantasia, as most of the group took things in. 

The 20-year-old Sinn says he has put his hand up to answer a question only a couple of times since arriving at Port, still getting comfortable with his place in the squad. 

"I'm not a big fan of awkward silence, I can't do that, so if there's that I might have to say something. 'TJ' (captain Tom Jonas), Ollie are the people you look at to speak up, they cut the silence," Sinn said.

It is partly a reason why Port Adelaide has a development academy later on Tuesdays, where the first-to-fourth-year players gather under the guidance of new development boss Matt Lobbe and development coach Luke Kelly. In a smaller setting – the session consisted of 17 players – they are encouraged to ask questions, to walk through gameplan terminology and set-ups they might not yet be fully across. 

Sinn sat between boom recruit Jason Horne-Francis and father-son Jase Burgoyne, two of his best mates at the club, as the trio talked through edits and pieces of play. 

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Draftee Kyle Marshall put his hand up for clarification on one term, while fellow first-year tall Tom Scully was called up to the front to talk through a decision from an old game edit. 

"'Reps' out there are important," Kelly said pointing to the training oval. "But the visual reps you get in here are just as important in how you can pick up how we want to play."

At the end of the development academy session, Kelly gave the players some homework before the following week – pick a player from an opposition team that you like to watch and who you can learn from. Sinn was already throwing up some options afterwards.

"I've always loved watching Lachie Whitfield and Josh Kelly, but someone like Karl Amon is also one I could do now he's at an opposition club. I did a bit of stuff with him last year," Sinn said of his former teammate turned Hawk. "I love the development academy meetings. You learn quickly and when you do speak up you almost learn twice as fast."

Sinn has been training up as a dashing half-back, but also sees some opportunities in the midfield and wing roles in time as well. He has refined his body and dropped some weight after focusing on his upper body strength while in the rehab program last year, and his running mechanics have improved to make him feel lighter. 

He came back to Adelaide from Melbourne earlier than required during the Christmas break to also pack in some running sessions with Burgoyne, his housemate, so he was more ready for when he sees the Power's fitness staff setting up some running cones at the end of long sessions.

"It's never exciting to see that," he said.

Sinn is upbeat on what the year can hold for him despite some summer disruption after last year's groin troubles. 

"At the start it was a bit of the unknown. I didn't know what was going on and some days would feel better than others," he said. 

"I spent the majority of Saturdays in the gym last year which was challenging but now I'm coming out of it I look back and think I've learnt a whole lot about myself and how much I do miss playing football. I knew I loved playing football but I don't think I realised how much until it was taken away.

"I've had three years of pretty interrupted football so if I get a really solid block in for this pre-season where I'm not missing much and get a lot of runs in the legs it's essentially like catching up on a year."

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IT WAS after his first two years that Todd Marshall started to really grasp what set the best players apart in a pre-season. Now into his seventh pre-season at the Power, the key forward knows what it takes.

"The main lesson I've learned is from my first two years where I'd come back and always have a few niggly injuries and didn't really know what it took in the off-season to come back and get your body right," he said. "Although the off-season is your break, you still have to be professional and get your body right to train well from the start when we return."

Marshall grew up in New South Wales and returns during his break, completing his running program by himself around local ovals. 

Over time, the 24-year-old has grown to see the pre-season as his time to build, to add, to grow bit by bit. After a career-best year in 2022, when Marshall kicked 45 goals from 21 games and was Port's leading goalkicker, he has narrowed his focuses. 

"We have an individual plan and mine this year is to continue working on my goalkicking and my marking craft. (Forwards coach) Chad Cornes and I have been working on that pretty hard and he's taken a few of us tall forwards for extra upper body gym sessions. It's a key part of my role," he said.

With their home under construction, the Power players have adapted to changes this pre-season. They have been into the more recently refurbished club rooms set for the club's AFLW program, while coaches offices and that of football boss Chris Davies are currently in the radio boxes, media booths and coaches rooms in the Fos Williams Family Stand. Their previous gym now demolished, the club has partnered with Gameready, a high-performance facility 15 minutes from the club that also has recovery options and areas for the coaches to meet one-on-one with players and do mini-information sessions. 

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Marshall's size makes him hard to miss in the gym and internally the Power will look to the 76-gamer to step into a more vocal leadership presence. With Jonas, Wines and Darcy Byrne-Jones heading a three-man leadership group last year, eyes will be on the likes of Marshall and Dan Houston to continue their growth as leaders, alongside young stars Connor Rozee and Zak Butters. 

"I think I've been able to develop that at a pretty reasonable pace and whether that leads to a leadership position or not, as a key forward you need to be a leader out there," Marshall said.

"Charlie (Dixon) has been that leader for me as a forward for all of my career and I think there's an opportunity to ease the pressure off him and take that role. You speak about being the man and owning the forward line and that's something I'll look to do more. I got thrown in the deep end a little bit last year when Charlie was out but I think that made my growth go really rapidly. Obviously Charlie still has the keys [to the forward line], but it's something I look forward to. It would be a great challenge to be that leader down there." 

Marshall's rise last season came after a quiet start to the year before a crucial chat with Hinkley ahead of the Power's round three clash with Adelaide saw Marshall refine his focus and boot five goals. 

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Hinkley has always been an ardent supporter of Marshall and their affinity is clear around the club. Hinkley, entering his 11th season as coach of the Power, entrusts his assistants to manage training but also oversees match simulation from the middle of the track, throwing in advice, tips and occasionally pulling players aside. 

Some players he will take up to his office for a longer chat, while others he will grab for a couple of minutes while wandering around the gym. It can be a lighter moment or a more serious one, Hinkley knowing the art of connection and how his players respond. 

Once a week after the players' gym session, Hinkley takes on the role of enthusiastic referee in the coaches' basketball game. In front of some of his players (and sometimes in spite of some of their questions on his refereeing calls – Marshall, Butters, Rozee, Fantasia and Aliir Aliir among those to stick around to watch) Hinkley moved up and down the touch line blowing his whistle and keeping the basketball game moving (Port's AFLW star and former WNBA champion Erin Phillips was the undisputed star of this contest). 

Marshall says clarity in his role last year from Hinkley has made it easy to attack this summer.

"He does take that backseat at this time of the year but he's always there if you need a chat. I'm really clear on my role for the team now, what I need to do, and my role for the group," Marshall said. "Ken always teaches you a lot."

Marshall is also using his pre-season to perfect his goalkicking routine, adding 30-40 extra set shots to his main training sessions so that across a week he's having about 80 more set shots at goal to continue the improvements he made last year (he booted 45.15 last season). 

"It's about confidence and I have made it a really big focus," he said.

***

OVER time, Scott Lycett has found the trick to having a successful year: the 'pre' pre-season. 

"I think off-season is more important than pre-season. Pre-season is important to work on your skills and your gameplans and these kinds of things but the way you present yourself at the start is huge," Lycett said. 

"If you come back in really good nick then the way you finish pre-season is a whole other level. Rather than just rocking up in OK nick and getting to a decent level by the end. I can guarantee you all the good players in the League are having unreal off-seasons and setting themselves up. When I was younger I didn't understand that quite as much."

As he nears the end of his 13th AFL pre-season, Lycett starts 2023 knowing it is a big year. After just four games last season due to shoulder surgery then an infection, the ruckman is determined to make an impact. It is also the final year of his five-season deal with the Power since crossing from West Coast after playing in the Eagles' 2018 premiership.

"There's something special about when you finish a pre-season and then go into the start of the season and there's that excitement and unknown of what the future of the season is going to hold for you," he said.

"This one is more important to me as I'm out of contract this year, I've just turned 30, so I need to have a good start to the year. But with experience I don't put that kind of pressure on myself. 

"You talk about the beginning, middle and end – when I was at the start, I used to put a lot of pressure on myself to perform and would overthink a lot of things. But when I got to the middle I knew there was a reason I was there, I'm a good player, I have strengths."

Even despite his experience, Lycett keeps his mind open. Port Adelaide's onball unit whets the appetite this season and during a meeting of the midfielders, Carr talks to the group more specifically about some technical aspects of stoppages. Lycett listens and marks down some key points in his journal, knowing he will also be a sounding board for some of the younger rucks and players in the group. 

"I work really closely with Dante (Visentini), 'Hayesy' (Sam Hayes) and Brynn (Teakle) and other guys who are quite a bit younger than me," he said.

"We watch vision together, we're always in the same groups for weights and touch. The biggest gains that I find when I am looking to pass on some knowledge is just out on the track. 

"They'll ask some questions after a meeting maybe where they don't want to go to a coach because they might feel embarrassed or whatever, so I have really tried to work on my approachability."

Last year in Lycett's injury-enforced absence, Port recruit Jeremy Finlayson starred as a mobile ruckman and there have been discussions on how a Lycett-Finlayson combination could look. 

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But that is still some time away from being decided, with Port's coaches and officials still in the planning rather than the personnel phase of the pre-season. Their major coaching meeting, held on Tuesday afternoon, highlighted the attention to detail required for every decision made across summer.

It started with a pop quiz (separating those who watched Stranger Things from those who didn't) run by development coach Tyson Goldsack, but quickly shifted into the coaching panel listing the actions behind their mission statement for the year, with that headed by coach development manager Rob Mason. Nathan Bassett, Carr, Cornes as well as Kelly, Lobbe and development coaches Hamish Hartlett and Goldsack, all placed Post-it notes under key categories that will guide their processes through the year. 

From there Hinkley led the agenda, with head of fitness Tim O'Leary giving a detailed player-by-player fitness and availability check and then the following day's training drills dissected, debated and thrown around.

With a relatively fit list, Port was able to train 17 v 17 in match simulation, with some players in for respective drills but pulled out of others. Some specific drills are made minutes longer to give coaches more chance to teach within them.

An update on the data analytics and coding programs are given to the group to enhance the instruction of players, while Bassett shares his lessons from a coaching course he attended featuring other sports.

Everything is done in preparation for two months' time when the Power kick off their season against Brisbane in round one at Adelaide Oval.

"Opposition is coming," Hinkley said.

The players know that too, with practice games only around the corner and training intensity growing. For Lycett, there has been only one thing to bring trepidation: the time trial. 

"I get more nervous for that than I do for a game sometimes," he said.

"It's not something you're dreading massively, but it's probably my worst thing in pre-season because everything else is good – you're fit, you're strong, you're out here in good weather, you're with your mates, you've still got pretty decent time off to unwind during the week. There's not much to complain about really. It's about giving yourself the best chance."