Teammate Ben Kennedy, meanwhile, had had the heat put on him by coach Nathan Buckley to improve his running capacity.

So when the pair took off for Europe the day after the Copeland Trophy count in early October, they had plenty of food for thought. One thing they'd already decided, though, was that this would be an end-of-season trip with a difference.

Adams and Kennedy toured through Holland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, Italy, France and England. They saw plenty of sights. But much of the time, they did so whilst pounding the pavement in their own mini pre-season, running ragged towards a better 2015.

Adams does the roll call of cities. "Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Krakow … we ended up in Paris and London. We'd just get up in the morning and go for a run. It's a great way to see the cities. You just see sights you wouldn't have otherwise.

"There were some really iconic views. We ran past the Eiffel Tower. In Rome, we ran past the Colosseum. It's pretty special to say you've seen that first hand. It's better than running along the Yarra.

"In Krakow, we were running through the botanical gardens and Wawel Castle, and ended up coming out of this huge castle and there's this big dragon statue [the Wawel dragon, which breathes fire] out the front. We were both that rooted during the run we didn't really notice it. It wasn't till the second lap we did we went: 'Hang on a sec, you don't see this every day.' It took our breath away." Again.

The result was that Adams and Kennedy came back from the month-long jaunt not only culturally enriched. When Collingwood's pre-season campaign began five days later, both smashed their previous bests in a two-kilometre time trial. Kennedy is grateful to his teammate.

"'Tay' is an elite runner, we were in places we hadn't been before, and if I didn't hang on to him I was going to be lost, so I was left with no choice but to stay with him," Kennedy smiles. "I've smashed my bests by a massive amount. We've both had pretty good pre-seasons."

So much so in Adams' case that the 21-year-old was seriously considered for a spot in Collingwood's leadership group this season despite having played only 12 games with the club. And despite an incident last January still the source of some embarrassment for him.

Out with his sister and friends at a Geelong nightclub, Adams was arrested and fined by police for being drunk in a public place. As off-field incidents go, it was on the lower end of the scale, but still enough to attract the sort of attention he didn't need.

"I really regret it," he says. "It just puts a sour note next to your name and it's something you don't want to have hanging over your head going into a new year. I was pretty disappointed in myself, and it was a really hard couple of weeks after that.

"But I think the thing that got me through was that I'd earned enough respect from the playing group and coaches throughout the pre-season that we were able to put it behind us and move on pretty quickly."

So the hard work has continued. And a determination to improve the areas in his game which need it most.

"Decision-making is the one that stands out to most people," he says. "I've put a hell of a lot of work into that, and I guess consistency is the key. I know I can match it with the best in most games and that at my best I'm good enough. It's just being able to do it regularly."

Now with 43 games under his belt after spending his first two seasons with the Giants, Adams' capacity to win the ball in tight situations has had him earmarked as the logical replacement for the now-retired Luke Ball. He doesn't shy away from the comparison.

"He's had an outstanding career and is a great person, and we're definitely similar players," Adams says. "I've certainly learned a lot from him. I'd like to think I'm able to step up this year and play a role for Collingwood similar to what he has the last few years. That's probably my main goal this year, to make that midfield role my own and play a consistent brand of footy."

That's something he readily admits didn't happen in his first year with the Magpies, even before his season-ending injury in round 19 against Port Adelaide. Asked if he put too much pressure on himself after being a highly publicised swap from GWS for Collingwood veteran Heath Shaw, he doesn't equivocate.

"Yep, I probably did. I guess playing in front of five or 6000 people up in Sydney compared to 70 ... 80,000 in Melbourne, sort of got to me a bit.

"I did put a fair bit of pressure on myself with the publicity and Collingwood being such a big club. I was doing a heap of extras, and probably almost went over the top with it all. By round one, I was a bit tired and worn out, and I sort of played like that. It took me until probably halfway through the year to find my feet and feel comfortable and that I belonged. And unfortunately, I hurt my finger against Port Adelaide just when I was finding some momentum."

In fact, after some more solid form, that game against Port was Adams' best of the season despite being injured in the first quarter, tearing tendons in his finger after it was caught on an opposition jumper.

"I didn't really know what I'd done," he recalls. "It sort of went numb, and I told the doc I couldn't bend my finger. I had scans the next day, and unfortunately the result was surgery with a 16-20-week turnaround. It was a bit nasty, and obviously not a great way to end the season.

"When I got back for pre-season, I was able to do all the skills, but missed about a month of being able to do tackling and contested work because they worry about the strength of it

"It was hard to comprehend missing games just because of a finger. It might have been a different story if it had been in the finals. I did question the doc, asking why I had to get it done, but the surgeon said if I didn't get it done then I could lose a fair bit of range of movement in my finger. I didn't want that post-career, I thought it isn't worth it. So I'm happy with how it panned out, because there's no problems with it now."

And with a good pre-season behind him, 23 disposals under his belt in Collingwood's first NAB Challenge game against Hawthorn, and another hit-out against the Western Bulldogs looming on Saturday, Adams is well-placed to show Magpie fans just why he was originally a first-round draft pick.

"I've felt pretty positive about it all," he reflects. "I feel like I've got some fluency, I've certainly improved aerobically, and think my footy stuff is coming along pretty well. I'm just looking forward to getting into the games now. It's been a long pre-season."

But a very rewarding one. And while places such as the MCG and Etihad Stadium might not be as eye-catching as the Eiffel Tower or Colosseum, they were, after all, the whole point of the most spectacular-looking training program Adams is ever likely to undertake.