LITTLE can be read into the first training session of a pre-season but, if anything, the Kangaroos did their very best to show they were prepared for the summer slog under new coach Brad Scott.
Most of the squad was present at Monday's hit-out, with the conditions drifting between searing sun and cloudy skies that often accompany November in Melbourne.
For a lot of the youngsters, it was the start of week two and Jack Ziebell, Ben Warren and Robbie Tarrant - all sidelined for the second half of last season - worked as though they were already hoping to catch the eyes of selectors.
It was a more relaxed initiation for captain Brent Harvey and senior teammates Drew Petrie, Corey Jones, Brady Rawlings, Daniel Pratt, Leigh Harding, Hamish McIntosh and Michael Firrito, who kicked in pairs and then jogged portions of the boundary.
Thumb surgery had Harvey favouring his left hand while Pratt had the glow and stubble of a man on holiday, but not the attitude.
Granted the flexibility that comes with a post-season wedding, David Hale and Scott McMahon will return next week.
It will be a longer wait for Daniel Wells as one of a very small rehabilitation group the club hopes stays that way.
Naturally, this tight-knit squad will take time to move on from the absence of mainstay Adam Simpson and, to a lesser extent, Jesse Smith, whose future away from Arden Street was confirmed only last week.
"There's been a lot of change and there'll be a little bit more change to come," Scott said before the session.
A welcome transformation has come with the club's new $15 million facilities, which will be central to its operations within a fortnight.
"I'm really excited," Scott continued. "It's been a long time coming.
"I haven't felt much like a coach in the last two months: I've felt more like a manager with a lot of interviews and a lot of meetings. I'm looking forward to getting out and doing some coaching."
Scott started a spectator as senior assistant Darren Crocker, development coach John Lamont and strength and conditioning coach Paul Turk took early control.
For backline coach Brett Allison, it was the opportunity to digest his new surrounds and the make-up of the group that will fall under his charge.
One of those players, Nathan Grima, had won the morning's time trial at Princes Park, with that exercise having little effect on the intensity of its vocal and fast-paced follow-up.
After just over an hour, Scott called time and, as he headed for the change-rooms, he thanked the handful of dedicated supporters who had made the effort to attend a small but significant milestone.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.
