Former No.3 draft pick Will Phillips has his mind set on featuring in Round 1 after a frustrating stretch through 2022 with glandular fever.

The midfielder made his debut for the club in Round 3, 2021, but due to illness he never featured at the AFL level last year and could only manage three VFL games in his second season at Arden Street.

Now, Phillips says he's firmly back on track as the beginning of the 2023 season fast approaches.

"(The) body is feeling really good now, it's been a long time coming for me obviously," Phillips said.

"I started from a pretty low base but I feel like I'm in a position now to be able to ramp up my training and hopefully get involved in the practice matches in a few weeks.

"It's been a pretty long journey but I'm really happy with the position I'm in now."

Repeating "mundane" running drills is what the start of the 20-year-old's road to full fitness mostly consisted of, but he has since been able to shift into more dynamic drills.

"More recently in the past couple of months I've really stepped up my training and I'm at a point now where I'm doing more game sense drills which is much more fun than what I was doing previously," Phillips said.

Although still young himself, Phillips mentioned a few of the other up-and-comers at the club that have impressed him in pre-season so far.

"I think all of the first-years are doing pretty well but the intensity of Blake Drury and the craft of Harry Sheezel has probably struck me the most. I think they could both push for selection early," he said.

"Jacko Archer is probably another one that's really stepped up his game. He's put on a lot of size and he's running well so hopefully I can play alongside him in 2023."