Essendon speedster Adam Saad says the club’s determined players are ready to push each other as young and old Bombers reunited for the first hit-out of the pre-season on Monday.

The upcoming second-to-fourth-year players and a number of more senior teammates returned to the track ahead of the 2019 season, and Saad said it was “great to be back” with the squad.

“Day one is always good to come back and see your teammates and the first session was just getting into the swing of things with some skills and running as well. The boys trained really well,” Saad said.

“It wasn’t as hot as it has been in the past. We stuck together and helped each other through and it was a good first session to get out of the way.”

The remainder of the team is set to return next Monday, but that didn’t stop the dashing defender and several of his teammates from returning ahead of schedule.

Dyson Heppell, Orazio Fantasia, Jake Stringer, Tom Bellchambers and Michael Hartley also hit the track on Monday, adding to the scores of players who have spent time at The Hangar since the end of the 2018 season.

GALLERY: Bombers hit the track

Saad was one of the many Bombers sighted at the club throughout the off-season and he said he prefers to use the elite facilities at his disposal to his advantage as the side strives for success.

“We’ve got the state-of-the-art facilities, so I like coming in, getting my work done in the early morning and having the rest of the day off.

“A lot of the boys have come through (the club) throughout the off-season and we’ve trained together, so it’s been really good.

“All us boys are hungry for success and we’ve just got to put in the hard yards and train together – we push each other – so that’s the main thing that we took out of the off-season and we’re going to take that into the pre-season as well.”

With four pre-seasons already under his belt, the 24-year-old says he is used to pushing his body to maintain continual improvement.

“Your body adapts, but you’re working as hard as you can every single session so you’re pushing yourself.

“All you can do is get better and improve every single session, whether it be in the weights or out on the track, it’s just (about) bettering myself.

“It’s just adding onto my fitness base and in the weights room as well and adding some pilates and boxing as well.

“It’s just to get as fit as I can and as strong as I can, like I’ve said in the past, and I’m really excited for that.”

Key defender Brandon Zerk-Thatcher, who is entering his second pre-season, said he felt fresh after a nice break with his family and friends in South Australia.

“I know myself, I’ve got to improve in a lot of my running, so at the end of today’s session we did another block of running and I was pretty happy with it, so it definitely paid off,” Zerk-Thatcher said.

The 66th pick from the 2017 NAB AFL Draft impressed in his first season at The Hangar, comfortably slotting in to play 19 VFL games and finish third in the side’s best and fairest.

Zerk-Thatcher said he is excited to get back into full training and has identified the areas he most wants to improve on in 2019.

“This season I want to get a bit more size on me and increase my craft,” he said.

“I’m working with Ben Rutten who has just come into the club, which will really help me so I’m looking forward to working with him.”