With a trademark wind blowing across Whitten Oval the Western Bulldogs began their official pre-season campaign yesterday, combining a light skills and running session out on the ground. 

 

A regular frontrunner in pre-season fitness trials, veteran midfielder Daniel Cross was pleased with the efforts of the playing group.

 

“It was good to be back, eventually we will get into a good routine. We had a short, sharp skills session, nice and windy - it wouldn’t be Whitten Oval without the wind,” Cross said.

Watch BulldogsTV highlights of yesterday's training session on the media player above.

 

“And then the big guys did four one kilometres and the smaller guys did five… just nice and easy to start things up again, back at home.

 

“The whole group of midfielders that ran together, we all ran as a really good group so good encouraging signs from everyone.”

 

The main aim of the training session was for the players to get a feel of the ball again and get some run into their legs according to Assistant Coach Rohan Smith. 

 

“Some of the boys have been here probably three weeks before we went to London and did a little bit of work which is great,” Smith told BulldogsTV.

 

“They have all come back in reasonable nick - their skinfolds are pretty good, their times are pretty good.

 

“Yesterday was running, we got a little bit of skill work into them, not too much, just to kick the legs in, have a little bit of a kick and a catch.

 

“If you don’t get the miles in the legs and you don’t put that work in you don’t get the rewards, so it’s something that we are really going to drive this year.”