BACK in the swing of things.

With a new pre-season underway - and a new Club partnership to launch - you couldn't wipe the smile off of Sam Walsh's face with the summer officially having commenced.

Speaking on his own areas of personal growth, leadership philosophy and which young players are raising the level, this is what Walsh had to say.

On the Club’s new QuickBooks partnership:

“It’s great any time for the Club to get a partnership where they back you in, it’s always nice. QuickBooks, it’s the first time they’ve been part of an AFL club. I think they’ve picked pretty wisely there. Hopefully they can enjoy the ride and we can put out good performances which all the brands will appreciate.”

On how the official first week back has gone:

“It’s great to be back officially this week. When you have the 12 weeks off, you’re chomping at the bit to go again. We’ve set up a really good base with our off-season program.

“From here, it’s about being able to set a standard to come back in the new year and go from there. A new Head of High Performance, new physio, it’s created a lot of good energy. We’ve got a group that is pretty driven to set a high standard every session.

“A lot of the high performance around the AFL has a similar philosophy but go after certain things. We’ve seen slight changes which I won’t go into, but I think you’ll get that every time someone comes into a new club with different ideas. The boys have taken to that.

“From here, the onus is on us as a group to drive the standard because that’s where the growth is going to come from.”

On what the team’s focus will be this summer:

“For us, it’s the ability to be a consistent team. You develop consistency at this time of year through building habits like we are today. Us older boys can set a high standard with our voice, communication on-field, always being on with every drill and having a purpose. That will transition into games.

“You set goals for how you’re going to improve as a player individually. Whether that’s in the gym or training, because you’re not getting contact from games every week, you can go hard at certain things. I’ve seen that from a lot of players, I’m not going to single any out because we’re all in it as a group.

“The growth is going to come from that individual drive and then coming together as a team and play for each other when the games hit.”

On where his focus lies:

“The biggest thing for me is getting that full pre-season under my belt. I do that by putting in the work and listening to my body, which I have been. From there, I want to get after my power running which is the way the game is going. A lot of boys have shown growth in that area and it’s what I’m going after.

“I’m getting at that stage in my career where your body is at the stage where it’s fairly developed and the work you’ve put in throughout those six years have helped, now I can really get after it.

“I’m starting to know my game really well and how it complements the midfield, that’s the thing to go after: having continuity and playing together. That’ll happen naturally.”

On Jagga Smith’s first few weeks:

“He’s been great. He’s a great kid as are all the draftees, it’s the best start you can get off to. They’re real footy heads, the new group we’ve got in, and you can’t go wrong with that. They all get along well. They’re holding them back a little at the moment so they’re chomping at the bit, but they’ll fit in pretty well.

“He’s competitive which is what you like. Guys that have played a high level for so long know what it takes. He’s shown that. He’s had a bit of that leadership quality which will be cool to see grow.”

On who is impressing:

“It’s hard to knuckle it down to one person. A few of the younger guys in the 3-4 year age bracket like Harry Lemmey, Jesse Motlop, Ollie Hollands, Jaxon Binns, Lachie Cowan - they’re the group that have taken control of the group because they were back early.

“It felt like as older boys, we were coming into a standard that was already pretty high which is great to see. It feels like we can hit the ground running.”

On Michael Voss’ PD trip to London:

“I was pretty tired when it was the first morning of the early wake-up, watching the highlights of the Tottenham game and seeing ‘Vossy’s’ head pop up. I was a bit jealous of him. I’m a Liverpool man, so I wasn’t all for it, but I think he’s had a great trip and Ange being a Carlton supporter is a nice little connection.

“This time of year, ‘Vossy’ is normally standing off to the side and has a big lens of how training is going and Ash is doing what he’s doing now. He’s super organised, very specific with what we’re getting out of drills which is great at this time of year. He definitely along with the coaches sets the standard for us for what we want to get after.”

On the pressure he feels as a leader:

“I wouldn’t say pressure. As a group, we’ve got an ambition to grow from where we are. We’re in a really good spot as a group, but where the power comes from through leadership is when we’re going through tough times during the year and how are we going to stand up, drive the standards and give players confidence as a leadership group that we can do some good things.”

On Nic Newman appearing to spend more time higher up the ground:

“I think ‘Crippa’ is going to half-back and he’s going on-ball…”

On the group’s standards for one another:

“I mentioned it before, but as a group we’re pretty ambitious. Those goals will stay in-house, but we’ll have to let our footy do the talking.

“We want to play a powerful brand on the offensive and defensive end, the growth comes from our consistency because we know that has wavered in the past couple of years. It’s easy to feel fresh now, but how can we emulate that in Round 13 or 14 and still bring that same energy.”