ADELAIDE

New coach Phil Walsh must be doing something right! After three months in the job, there has been no inkling of a player revolt. Following the sacking of Walsh's predecessor Brenton Sanderson back in September, chairman Rob Chapman said mediocrity wouldn't be accepted at the club and some of the Crows' best players have embodied that mantra out on the training track. Patrick Dangerfield, Rory Sloane, Taylor Walker and Brad Crouch have all led by example and seem to be relishing Walsh's uncompromising focus on maintaining elite standards. Adelaide resumes pre-season training on Monday.

BRISBANE LIONS

There is a huge buzz up at the Gabba following the Lions' brilliant off-season recruiting campaign and that enthusiasm has been evident in the way new signings Dayne Beams, Allen Christensen and Mitch Robinson have attacked pre-season. The trio have been very impressive and adding to the positive vibes at the club is the fact that Daniel Rich (knee), Jack Redden (ankle), Matthew Leuenberger (knee) and Brent Staker (calf), who only managed 22 games between them in 2014, all made it to the Christmas break unscathed. The Lions return to business on Monday.

CARLTON

Mick Malthouse's third pre-season in charge has gone a lot smoother than his second with almost a clean bill of health to report at Visy Park. New recruit Kristian Jaksch (foot) and Cameron Giles (foot) have been the only injury concerns – a far cry from last summer when the Blues had a whopping 19 players undergo surgery! Later this month they will head to Mount Buller for altitude training and it might also serve as a good chance to weed out any downhill skiers. Former skipper Chris Judd, Lachie Henderson, Levi Casboult and Tom Bell have been the standout performers to date. Carlton goes back to work on Tuesday.

COLLINGWOOD

After missing the finals for the first time since 2005, this looms as one of the Magpies' most important pre-seasons in almost a decade. And they're treating it accordingly. No chances are being taken with Scott Pendlebury (shoulder), Dane Swan (hip) and Brent Macaffer (knee) who have all been on modified programs while Ben Reid continues to recover from another calf injury. Former Cat Travis Varcoe and top-five pick Jordan De Goey have hit the ground running with their new club. The Pies return from their festive break on Monday.

ESSENDON

Anti-doping tribunal hearing and James Hird's appeal aside, it's been a relatively quiet pre-season for the Bombers. Their annual high-altitude training camp was scaled back dramatically with only Jobe Watson, Cale Hooker, Michael Hurley and Michael Hibberd sent to Colorado. Tom Bellchambers is nearing full fitness after a second bout of ankle surgery in the space of nine months. New recruits Adam Cooney and James Gwilt starred on the track prior to the break. Essendon is back in action on Monday.

FREMANTLE

There was only ever going to be one result for a Ross Lyon-coached team that bombed out of the finals in straight sets – a gruelling pre-season. In fact, most of the Dockers probably only just recovered from their pre-Christmas slog. Unfortunately for them, they're back on the track on Monday! Encouragingly, elder statesmen Matthew Pavlich, Aaron Sandilands and Luke McPharlin were all strong performers. Nat Fyfe (shoulder) is expected to return to full training this week while Garrick Ibbotson (shoulder), Michael Johnson (back), Zac Clarke (knee), Anthony Morabito (knee) and Colin Sylvia (ankle) are all progressing well from their respective ailments.

GEELONG

The Cats also suffered the ignominy of wasting their double chance in the finals and after a season littered with late-game fadeouts, endurance running and improved fitness has been central to their pre-season. A time frame for Jackson Thurlow's return to full fitness after a nasty kidney injury sustained last month remains unclear. But big men Hamish McIntosh (knee), Dawson Simpson (back) and Nathan Vardy (knee) are making steady progress in their recoveries. Geelong returns from its Christmas break on Monday.

GOLD COAST

Rodney Eade has had a tough initiation as Suns coach with a host of his best players having injury-interrupted pre-seasons. Gary Ablett (shoulder), Jaeger O'Meara (knees), Dion Prestia (hamstring) and Harley Bennell (calf) have all had to overcome obstacles of varying degrees this summer. O'Meara is the biggest concern and remains in doubt to be right by round 1. Ablett is expected to partake in contact work at some stage this month. The Suns get back to reality on Wednesday.

GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY

After three seasons, the training wheels are now off and, if their demanding training camp in Noosa before the Christmas break was anything to go by, GWS is planning an audacious assault on the finals. Key talls Jon Patton and Tim Mohr continue their rehabilitation from knee reconstructions while Liam Sumner (foot) and James Stewart (glandular fever) are also sidelined. Devon Smith, Adam Treloar and skipper Callan Ward have been outstanding on the track and will have the chance to continue setting the pace when their pre-season resumes on Monday.

HAWTHORN

They might be the reigning back-to-back premiers but the Hawks have been all business this summer as they begin their assault on a historic "three-peat" of flags. From all reports, their training camp on the Sunshine Coast before Christmas was brutal. Isaac Smith, Billy Hartung and ruckman Ben McEvoy completed the top three in the two-kilometre time trial before Christmas, new recruits James Frawley and Jono O'Rourke have settled in well and the club has been buoyed by the gradual progress from injury being made by Brendan Whitecross (knee) and Jed Anderson (shoulder).

MELBOURNE

Given the Dees' player development has been pushed back to the Stone Age in the last decade, it's perhaps fitting they have adopted a form of paleo diet this pre-season to increase their energy levels. But the light is certainly visible at the end of their long and dark tunnel and new recruits Heritier Lumumba, Jeff Garlett, Sam Frost and Ben Newton have made positive starts to their careers at Melbourne. Jack Watts (groin) and Jack Trengove (foot) have been the only major injury concerns. The Demons resume training on Monday.

NORTH MELBOURNE

The preliminary finalists would have been very pleased with what they saw from former Bulldog Shaun Higgins in the lead-up to Christmas and, as usual, evergreen champion Brent Harvey has been a standout performer too. The Roos expect Drew Petrie (ankle), Lachlan Hansen (hip), Ben Brown (knee) and Robbie Tarrant (tibia) to return to full training some time this month. Pre-season training recommences for North Melbourne on Monday.

PORT ADELAIDE

The Power returned to pre-season training earlier than any other club when they resumed the slog on Saturday - a sign perhaps of how determined they are to go at least one better in 2015 and continue their rapid improvement under coach Ken Hinkley. The club would be ecstatic that most of their players ran personal best times in the three-kilometretime trial before the break. They also returned to Dubai for a gruelling eight-day training camp prior to Christmas. Travis Boak, Brad Ebert, Ollie Wines and Robbie Gray have been tearing up the track.

RICHMOND

The burning desire to win their first final since 2001 would no doubt be fuelling the Tigers' pre-season and their hopes of achieving that goal have been given a huge boost by the fact that unimpeded key big man Ivan Maric has been one of the standout performers following an injury-riddled 2014. A further boost for the team is that only Steven Morris (shoulder), Matt Thomas (knee) and Ben Lennon (hip) have been on restricted programs due to surgery. The Tigers return from their break on Monday.

ST KILDA

The homesick Seaford Saints, who have reportedly had their eye on a move to both the Junction Oval and Elsternwick Park, satisfied their wanderlust in December when they spent part of their pre-season in New Zealand. Jarryn Geary and David Armitage have been head and shoulders above their teammates to date. Luke Dunstan (shoulder) is due to return to full training this month. The Saints will have their noses back to the grindstone on Wednesday.

SYDNEY

The Swans are still seething from their grand-final humiliation and their exclusion from the trade period, but their spirits would have been lifted by the early form of Academy draftee Jack Hiscox who took out both three-kilometre time trials. Star midfielder Dan Hannebery has maintained impeccable standards while Tom Mitchell, Lloyd Perris, Harry Cunningham and Dane Rampe have also impressed. Another positive for the club is that luckless defender Alex Johnson is the only patient in the medical room as he continues his recovery from a fourth knee reconstruction. The runners-up resume pre-season training on Monday.

WEST COAST

The Eagles have identified their lack of size in the midfield as a major reason for them narrowly missing out on finals action this year so most of the players have spent much of the pre-season in the weights room. But there has been plenty of disruption already with senior players Scott Selwood (ankle), Callum Sinclair (finger), Eric Mackenzie (hip), Sharrod Wellingham (knee), Elliot Yeo (hand), Xavier Ellis (AC joint), Matt Rosa (pectoral muscle), Jeremy McGovern (hip) and Jack Darling (foot) all suffering setbacks. Chris Masten and Matt Priddis have set the standard while fourth-round pick Damien Cavka turned heads when he broke the club's two-kilometre, time-trial record before Christmas. The Eagles will also return from their break on Monday.

WESTERN BULLDOGS

The good news for new coach Luke Beveridge is that he appears to have his group of mollycoddled, Gen Y mutineers on side for the moment. Shooting star Marcus Bontempelli has picked up where he left off his debut season and, with an extra seven kilograms already added to his frame, looks set to take his game to the next level in 2015. Fellow young gun Lachie Hunter has also caught the eye. The only major injury concern is Clay Smith who is on the mend from a knee reconstruction.