Sydney Swans assistant coach Dean Cox says there has been a healthy competitive nature amongst the playing squad and hopes they continue to leave no stone unturned as pre-season ramps up for the upcoming season.
Training resumed on Thursday, January 6 with a majority of the squad knuckling down in preparation for the new campaign, while it also marked the official arrival of draftees Corey Warner and Angus Sheldrick as the duo remained in WA prior to Christmas.
Cox has been impressed with the way the players have returned to the club, but has urged them to launch into pre-season as hard as they can to ensure they are ready for the first practice match in the coming weeks.
"The season comes around really quickly with a practice game in seven weeks so we need to ramp things up as quickly as we can," Cox said.
"We will structure it with our match simulation drills in three-four weeks, so we want to get there as healthy as we possibly can, but also we want the players to have enough loading to withstand those demands.
"They will have enough match play before the practice game and be ready for the season ahead."
One thing that has always been at the core of the Swans' brand of footy is competing in everything they do - on and off the field. That is something the Bloods won't waiver from in 2022, and Cox says that mentality will see players fighting for spots in the top 22, while also keeping each other accountable.
"We want to compete in everything we do. That is one thing we have always prided ourselves on - one thing we want to make sure we do is to give everyone an opportunity.
"We want to change and tweak some things in the way we want to play and now is a good time for the players to push and compete against each other for spots in the team.
"They're training really hard and they will continue to do so."
He also lauded the arrival of the club's draftees and their positive attitude towards training, while also praising new recruit Peter Ladhams who arrived earlier than expected at the backend of last year.
"The advantage for Matty Roberts and Lachlan Rankin is that they were able to train pre-Christmas and have a couple of sessions," he said.
"Now Angus Sheldrick and Corey Warner have come over from WA, they have an opportunity and they have dived into our sessions.
"Ladhams came in earlier than he had to start, which was good to familiarise himself with the players, the club, and also the way we want to play.
"He got through all that volume and now it's just about him building some chemistry amongst the players, whether that's playing forward but also when he's playing around the footy as well."
The Sydney Swans will face North Melbourne and the GWS Giants in the pre-season before kicking off their 2022 campaign with plenty of highlights members and fans can look forward to.
