James Kelly says he’s surprised he was able to string so many games together during 2016, given his limited preparation.

The triple premiership player only joined the Bombers in late January, just two months ahead of the Club’s season opener. 

But by season’s end, Kelly had chalked up 20 games (missing only two matches when he was rested) and finished runner-up in the best and fairest.

“I was expecting to break down at some stage, I’d sort of factored that into my preparation for the year and fortunately I didn’t,” Kelly said.

“I felt I worked hard on it throughout the year, as well as working with ‘Woosha’ and ‘Crowy’ (High Performance Manager Justin Crow) to manage my loads really well.

“I was really thankful I got through the season the way I did.”

Kelly’s injury free run in 2016 has allowed him to join in most of the pre-season in recent months.

With a healthy playing list and the return of some key players, Kelly said the training track has been an enjoyable place to be.

“Everyone is training and more numbers on the track makes training easier and more fun,” he said.

“If anything there is just more voices around the place, I still try to talk and contribute wherever I can but this year with the guys coming back there is just more people talking which is great for the group.

“The guys that sort of grew up a bit last year with the senior players missing are still there as well, so we’ve got this really good spread of players who are contributing.

“There is always conversations after every drill and every meeting about how we want to play and the way we want to play which is fantastic for the group.”

Kelly said the returning players appear driven and has been impressed by the way they’ve attacked the pre-season.

At the other end of the spectrum, the latest batch of draftees is one month into their AFL careers.

They’re on modified programs to ensure they transition smoothly into the demands of full-time training.

“They’re all really good kids, they’re all sponges, they’re eager to learn, they’re eager to be out on the track,” Kelly said.

“It can be hard for a first year player because you don’t really train a lot early in your career and you just want to get out there and earn your stripes but they’re getting held back.

“A few of them are getting a bit grumpy with that, which I think is a good sign – they want to be out there training and playing with the boys.”