STRAIGHT into it.

While Friday’s opening training day was met with another two-kilometre time trial, Monday’s return to La Trobe University saw the Blues undergo their largest match simulation block of pre-season to date.

According to co-vice captain Jacob Weitering, it was the perfect way to get the ball rolling.

Praising the foundation the team set with their pre-Christmas block, Weitering said while the scale of the session wasn’t unexpected, it was one which they relished.

03:41

"We're going to keep building": Weitering on 2025 return

Jacob Weitering speaks to Carlton Media and wraps up the second session back to training in 2025.

“The boys weren’t shocked, but it was a pretty decent session out here at La Trobe,” Weitering said.

“The boys trained well [and come back in] really good nick. Our block pre-Christmas was a really good one, everyone did plenty of work over the off-season. We had a change in high performance with Rob coming in and a few boys wanting to impress in terms of the results.

“The way the boys are hitting PBs on the field, it’s been really impressive. To get into 2025 is really exciting for us: new year, new beginning.”

There’s obvious enjoyment for Weitering in having completed the vast majority of pre-season to date, having gone down with a calf injury which wiped out the majority of his preparations last year.

AFL training gallery | Monday 13 January

18

On the back of a maiden All-Australian selection, it’s clear that the co-vice captain is still hoping to elevate his own game while bringing others along for the ride.

“I’m 10 years in now, which is a little bit worrying! It’s been good: there’s a really good young crew coming through, really impressing and pushing the older guys.

“Personally, I didn’t train a whole lot last year off the back of my calf: I haven’t missed much at all. It’s a great improvement for me, providing a bit of confidence going into games.”

With practice matches rolling around in just over a month, Weitering said motivation levels remained high for the Blues.

While the disappointment of 2024 can’t be the be-all-and-end-all, Weitering said it was no secret the team would be using it to fuel their desire this summer.

“We’re going to keep building off the strong foundation we had in ’24 [pre-Christmas].

“There was some disappointment [in season] that’s certainly going to drive us. We had our first block of match sim, that’s going to continue: we’ll keep improving and focusing on what we can control as a group.”