Essendon welcomed back its first-to-fourth year contingent of players to kick off pre-season training on Monday morning, with plenty of senior players also joining them out on the track.

The main skills session saw a full day from the Bombers including gym work and a team meeting before the two-hour session on deck.

Although the rest of the squad aren't officially scheduled to return until late November, Zach Merrett and Andrew McGrath were among the more experienced Dons leading the charge, with a slew of other older players such as Harry Jones and Sam Draper also on the park.

Check out essendonfc.com.au's images from the first day of pre-season below.

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