“I want to see who you really are.”

One thing is clear from the opening of Mark McVeigh’s first pre-season address to his Essendon players as their Senior Coach. 

He wants the NEC Hangar to be a place its people are proud of - in every facet.

Purely off the atmosphere around the place, you’d have no inkling this is a group coming off a two-win season. That’s largely the case because of just how fresh and ‘introductory’ the day feels for a healthy amount of new faces in this footy program. 

It’s technically just the first-to-fourth year players who are required to report back for pre-season this early, but the vast majority of the squad aren’t passing up the opportunity to meet the slew of new staff, coaches and recruits who are now getting used to their new home.

Almost the entire playing list starts rolling in as early as 6:30am for their initial prep ahead of the 8am team meeting, which mostly serves as a big-picture presentation of just how much change lies ahead for this group.

After all the new faces are introduced to the group – Jack Bowes and Keidean Coleman included – McVeigh and Senior Assistant Daniel Pratt outline a fresh structure of drills for pre-season which players are being thrown straight into. 

New football terminology, as well as several updated elements of its gameplan and ball movement will have to become the ‘new norm’ pretty rapidly for the Bombers, who have the next month to execute it until their Christmas break.

While the coaches are weary of overloading the players with a stack of new information from the outset, they’ll look to maximise that period and ramp up the education while also testing the players physically.

“(The fundamentals are) where we build our evidence and then our belief,” Pratt said in his presentation.

“I’ll remind you that we are going to challenge you but we will also be there to support you (in picking up a new gameplan). This is where the player-coach relationships will be critical.”

McVeigh and the coaches are quick to involve players in the meeting, posing questions and actively seeking their feedback. It harks back to his opener, where he was adamant on his players being confident in every setting around the club. 

In the book of the former Bomber, it’s the little things that go a long way.

“I want the energy to be up and about around this club and I want to see who you really are. With training, it’s not just about being physical. Bring your mind,” McVeigh said.

“One of the things I really want us to lift in here is how the Hangar looks. Everything we do, whether it's the football department, high performance, our players, all our programs, I really want you to take care of where we are. 

“Embrace new concepts and embrace what we’re trying to do. There'll be a lot of new language. There'll be a lot of new drills, and there'll be a lot of new gameplan styles. Make sure you're ready for that. 

“With that, we want you to be you. This needs to be a happy place and you should enjoy coming in every day. We’re going to work hard and we’re going to enjoy it." 

The sheer amount of personnel change in the football department has also extended to its cosmetic appearance. 

The Bombers’ coaches and staff have looked to implement more collaborative spaces for their players in preparation for pre-season and have overhauled different areas of their level as a result, making it more accessible and unified for both football and administrative staff. 

One of the first tangible changes outside of the office comes in the first-day fitness testing.

Rather than just the solitary two-kilometre time trial and their usual conditioning, the young Bombers get put through their paces with several multi-stage fitness tests (starting with the Eurofit variation of the beep test).

Running up and down the ground in pairs, the test begins at 8km/h pace and gradually ramps up by 0.5/h in each passing minute, with the players running until failure.

Angus Clarke has been the benchmark in these stakes over the previous two pre-seasons but he was finally outdone this time around in the form of his direct running partner Nate Caddy.

The key forward powered through just ahead of Clarke to record the best score amongst the group as the last man standing, with Jayden Nguyen, Rhys Unwin, Zach Reid and Archer Day-Wicks also among the first-to-four years who impressed in the first test. 

While the five-year-plus contingent ran a separate segment as a group initially, they rejoined the youngsters with a follow-up that included two consecutive one-kilometre runs at max effort, marking a strong opening to pre-season. 

Split into three training groups once the Sherrins were introduced, the Dons wasted no time making inroads and getting up to speed in their new system.

In between stoppage scenarios and ball movement simulations with the different line groups, the squad went back into conditioning with multiple repeat sprint efforts before moving into individual craft and fundamental work to round out the main session. 

The player-to-coach relationships got up and running straight away – Brent Stanton and new appointment Paul Thomas worked closely at scramble work with a bunch of the midfielders while the duo of Isaac Kako and Huss El Achkar honed in on their crumbing around goal with Gary Rohan. 

Caddy and Kyle Langford spent an extended period with Michael Hurley, who’s now moved permanently from development into the role of Forwards Coach. For rucks Vigo Visentini and Nick Bryan, the presence of Shane Mumford provides another experienced head to learn from. 

Some opt for tackling technique discussions with former Premiership Don and Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt Mark Johnson, who’s rejoined the Club as a part-time coach in that space.

John Longmire is an active figure on the track alongside Head of Development Brent Prismall, both playing a hands-on role alongside the coaching panel in the opening hours of pre-season.

Former Brisbane half back Coleman slots in nicely on day one with his new teammates, participating fully and looking clean with his left foot in the drills. 

Archie Roberts is another moving well and gradually integrating into full training after recovering from shoulder surgery in the off-season.

Sullivan Robey is on light craft duties with an aim to return by Christmas after his minor knee procedure, while Nic Martin continues to edge closer to full training as he comes back from his ACL injury, getting involved in a good chunk of drills and moving well.

One of the youngsters formally introduced to the group is future father-son prospect Koby Bewick, who’ll gain plenty out of a full pre-season with his boyhood club in an AFL environment ahead of his top-age draft year.

Making the most of his rehab period, Lewis Hayes has again put on bulk and looked very agile at ground level as he integrates into the full schedule – second-year defender Max Kondogiannis has also filled out off the back of his first full off-season as a professional. 

After lunch, the group moved into their rotations, focusing on craft and hitting the gym over the final three hours of the day. 

Most got the opportunity to finally catch up after their respective breaks, spending time on fundamentals in Handball Club and breaking bread with the new recruits in the café.

The Bombers’ next two main sessions at the NEC Hangar take place on Wednesday and Friday this week. Check here weekly to see the schedule for when you can get down to watch the boys train over the course of this pre-season.