Crows fitness numbers “far and above’’ what they were at the same time last year, says Ben Hart

Adelaide assistant coach Ben Hart has lifted the lid on just how much fitter the Crows are compared to this time last year as the players complete their pre-Christmas training block.

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Adelaide assistant coach Ben Hart has lifted the lid on just how much fitter the Crows are compared to this time last year.

Speaking after Adelaide broke for its Christmas break following a three-day pre-season training camp on the Fleurieu Peninsula, Hart said 41 of the club’s 44 players had completed “the majority’’ of training.

And he said the players’ key fitness numbers were “far and above’’ what they were at the same time last year.

The only long-term injury concern is dual All-Australian defender Daniel Talia, who has had surgery on his right knee following “an innocuous incident at home’’.

He is expected to be back running early in the new year and should be available for round one.

Just over a year after Talia revealed the Crows hadn’t returned to pre-season training in great condition after being beaten in the 2017 grand final and having a late start, Hart described the difference in 12 months as like chalk and cheese.

Adelaide Crows coaching staff Steve Saunders, left, and Ben Hart talk during a pre-season training session last month. Picture: Sarah Reed

And he said it put Adelaide in good stead as it tries to bounce back hard following its shocking fall from second to 12th.

“To have 41 players do the majority of training at Noarlunga Oval on Wednesday, that was unheard of last year, so we think we are in really good shape,’’ Hart said.

“It’s been a great start to our pre-season, we have attacked training and the boys have come back in really good nick, so we’re looking forward to what we can produce next season.

“Credit has to go to the players because they realise last season didn’t go to plan and the way they came back and presented themselves was great.

“It enabled us coaches to be able to put the work into them that they need.’’

Hart said last pre-season the players were chasing their tails because of the underwhelming condition that some of them returned to training in while several players were on the comeback trail from off-season surgeries.

“Because we weren’t in great nick at the start of last year we weren’t able to attack and get as much high speed metres into the players, we had to build them up slowly,’’ Hart told FIVEaa.

“This year we’ve been able to put a lot of high speed, high volume numbers into the guys so they are actually training the way the game is played, which they didn’t quite do last year.

“The numbers our high performance team chase have been far and above what were able to get at this time of the year last year, so hopefully that sets us up well.’’

The Crows also appear a happier bunch this year after last season’s infamous failed pre-season, mind-training camp to the Gold Coast which affected some players psychologically.

“Don (coach Don Pyke) was very clear with his coaching group this year that he wanted to make the environment a bit more fun, a bit more open,’’ Hart said.

“We've gone about having less meetings and given the players more ownership in how we go about it.

“The balance is really good at the moment. We have been training really hard but also having fun while doing it, so we're.in a good place.

“We’re pretty excited about our list internally and think we can bounce back pretty quickly.’’

Originally published as Crows fitness numbers “far and above’’ what they were at the same time last year, says Ben Hart