Conca took to the track at Punt Road on Wednesday, nine days after minor knee surgery, while draftee Corey Ellis is on the mend after foot surgery.

Tigers football chief Dan Richardson said Conca and Ellis, the 12th overall pick in last year's national draft, were "not too far away" from returning to the main group.

The pair ran laps at the open training session, with Conca's progress indicating he will be fit in time for next month's NAB Challenge.

The Tigers have kept a generally low profile through the off-season, preferring to diligently build on their surge through the second half of last season, culminating in an elimination final against Port Adelaide. While the Tigers were mauled that day on the Adelaide Oval, an earlier change in game style to a more direct route to goal has given supporters a belief they can again be a legitimate finals aspirant this year.

They will need the four players considered elite under Champion Data's rankings – Brett Deledio, Jack Riewoldt, Shane Edwards and Alex Rance – to again excel.

Somewhat surprisingly, skipper Trent Cotchin fell into the above-average category. In a season when he changed his leadership style, becoming more demanding of teammates, he was pivotal in the Tigers' resurgence after they had won just three of their first 13 matches.

He was able to be more damaging forward of centre from round 15, winning 52 per cent of his possessions in this attacking region in the final 10 matches, up from 43 per cent during a miserable opening few months.

Coach Damien Hardwick is likely to continue to have Dustin Martin as a regular feature up forward. Martin spent 64 per cent of his time in the attacking arc last season, much more than in previous years. His ability to dominate one-on-one battles – he won 56.7 per cent of these, well ahead of his nearest rival in the league – was crucial and reinforced why he is one of the league's toughest match-ups when fit.

While scoring is crucial – the Tigers will want to lift their weekly points average from an 11th best 85.3 – key forward Jack Riewoldt has said defenders Alex Rance and David Astbury are pivotal to hopes of the club ultimately winning its first final since 2001.

In the second half of last season, Rance was statistically rated as the fourth-best key defender in the league. He was elite in one-on-one clashes.

"The biggest thing for him is to back it up and from what I've seen in the pre-season this year, he's ready to take another step. So it's exciting times for him," Riewoldt said.

Astbury managed just the eight matches last season before dislocating his knee. Fellow defender Troy Chaplin, who notched the most minutes of any player in the league through the home-and-away campaign, will also have an important role.

Meanwhile, Greater Western Sydney coach Leon Cameron says he is "really confident" Jeremy Cameron can recapture his All Australian form of 2013. Cameron booted 62 goals two years ago but had managed just 29 in 14 matches last season before his season ended in July when he had ankle surgery. The Giants expect fellow forward Jonathan Patton will resume from his second knee reconstruction in about round 12.

Fremantle midfielder Anthony Morabito will be sidelined for up to three weeks after having minor surgery on his left knee. Morabito has cartilage issues in a knee that has been reconstructed three times.