AFL clubs have returned to pre-season training ahead of Christmas, and there are a few handy names back on the track as well as time-trial results galore to over-examine.
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If the “heated” interstate clashes between new Brisbane Lions teammates Will and Levi Ashcroft on the PlayStation are any indication, the dynamic duo will be pushing themselves to pre-season heights that should concern the 17 AFL teams chasing the reigning premiers in 2025.
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After being taken at No.5 in the AFL draft, Levi joined older brother and Norm Smith medallist Will for the nominal day one of pre-season training on Monday as the first to fourth-year players were joined by a raft of “hungry” senior premiership winners.
Co-captain Harris Andrews was part of that group that Ashcroft, who at 20 remains in the younger crew despite his lofty achievements, said was evidence of the “standards” set at the club and a guide to just how much the Lions want back-to-back flags.
“We love that. Those boys setting the standard as they have for a very long time at this club,” Ashcroft said.
“It’s easy to come back a bit out of shape or a bit later because we played so late into last season and because we won. But those boys drive the standards, year in year out, even the younger boys who missed out and the injured boys who missed out, you can see how hungry they are and the work they have done behind the scenes.
“I’m so proud of what the boys were able to do, but it’s time now to look ahead and we’re all very ambitious, the guys who played in that game plus all the guys coming back from injury and new guys coming into the squad. We’re a very ambitious and hungry group to go again.”
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The Lions are not just hungry but well-armed, too, having drafted the younger Ashcroft who was regarded by most pundits as the best player in a draft pool stacked with talent.
Running machine Sam Marshall also showed his prowess with a time trial win on Monday as an indication of just how much stronger the Lions could get in 2025.
The lifelong competitive nature between the Ashcroft brothers is another key element in driving more improvement from the Lions. Will said while he and his brother would push each other, they could also “challenge” some teammates to come with them.
“We’ve got a lot of similarities as players as well as people,” Will said.
“(Levi) is pretty competitive and we have been driven then all through our childhood and looking to bring that to our own training this pre-season and then into next year. It’s going to be very exciting for him, to bring back that competitive edge we pride ourselves on and to challenge guys around us.
“Even last year when he was back in Melbourne, we’d jump on the PS4 and play games and that would get pretty heated.”
Add to that competitive drive the comfort Levi already feels at the Lions, having done much of the previous pre-season in Brisbane knowing where his future lies, and it bodes well for the 2025 premiership campaign.
“He was here for the majority of last pre-season, so he’s done a fair body of work at the club already,” Will said of his brother.
“All the boys love him, when it’s time to train he’ll put his head down and do the work required.
“He was pretty chill rolling in today and excited … it’s been a long time coming.”
St Kilda revealed its top five finishers in Monday’s three-kilometre time trial, with a first-year gun runner taking the cake.
Nineteen-year-old rookie midfielder Darcy Wilson, who played every game for the Saints in his debut season, once again finished first — ahead of veteran running machine Bradley Hill.
Wilson, who finished fourth in this year’s Rising Star award with 15 votes, is understood to have held a near-50-metre lead for most of the race.
Fellow youngsters Hugo Garcia and Mattaes Phillipou finished fourth and fifth, respectively, while hardened skipper Jack Steele rounded out the top five.
According to the Saints, 29 players participated in the run at G.R. Bricker Reserve on Monday morning, while the club’s five-man crop of national draftees did not take part.
Spearhead forward Max King (knee), midfielder Marcus Windhager (hamstring) and defender Liam Stocker (groin) were among the sidelined players as they continue rehabilitating respective ailments.
The Bulldogs also posted their time trial results, with 19-year-old hybrid Joel Freijah coming out on top.
Freijah, the 45th pick in the 2023 national draft, played 13 senior games this season, including the Dogs’ final pair of home-and-away contests and the elimination final loss to Hawthorn.
Small forward Lachie McNeil finished second, while rookie key-position forward Jordan Croft finished third in an impressive effort.
Croft didn’t play any AFL footy in his maiden campaign but projects as a long-term pillar at either end.
Meanwhile, Sydney shared the top three finishers in its first-to-fourth-year time trial on Monday.
Corey Warner came out on top, followed by Caiden Cleary in second and Matt Roberts in third.
Warner, the younger brother of superstar Swans midfielder Chad, has managed nine AFL games across three seasons after being drafted with Pick 40 in 2021.
Cleary was a product of the Swans’ Academy in 2023 and could be slated for a larger role in 2025 following the departure of Luke Parker, while South Adelaide junior Roberts appears to have found a home on a half-back flank.
Elsewhere, powerful midfielder Jordan De Goey returned to Collingwood training at Olympic Park on Monday after a 2024 season he spent juggling groin and hamstring injuries, having travelled to Doha for 10 days this off-season to consult with specialists.
Big-name GWS recruit Jake Stringer was also kitted up as the Giants got to work.
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