Adelaide ruckman Reilly O’Brien says his body is in a good spot, following a slight interruption to his pre-season.
In early January, O’Brien went under the knife to remove his appendix, after suffering an appendicitis, with the recovery keeping him sidelined for a week.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, O’Brien said it took him a week or so post-surgery to return to full fitness, but was now really good.
“I probably had a week and half off training post appendix operation, but back to full training the last couple of weeks and feeling good,” O’Brien said.
“I was feeling super fit and training really well before that.
“First couple of sessions back after not running for a week you get a little bit of a blow but after that I was fine.
“Feeling really good and the body is in a good spot.”
O’Brien has been working with some new faces at stoppages this pre-season, with the likes of Josh Rachele, Izak Rankine and Luke Pedlar spending time running through the middle.
For the 28-year-old, he has welcomed their inclusion, as they have the ability to add x-factor to Adelaide’s midfield mix with their speed and footy smarts.
“I love getting guys like Rach, Ranks and Lukey Pedlar in there,” O’Brien said.
“Those guys are so quick and add so much x-factor and are so dynamic, so it will be exciting to work with them in the midfield.
“I think the best teams in the league have x-factor through the midfield, guys that can rip up at stoppages, rip up games.
“I think it will be super beneficial for the team to have that string to our bow.”
One player who has impressed O’Brien throughout has been one of Adelaide’s newest recruits, first-round draft pick Daniel Curtain.
Despite the 18-year-old having a minor setback with a sore knee which has limited some of his involvement at training, O’Brien said he cannot wait to see what the defender will do this year.
“He moves so well and he’s massive as well as an 18-year-old – he’s got most of the boys covered,” O’Brien said.
“He will be a great player, he’s a great kid and I get along really well with him, (he has) a great attitude to training.
“He’s had a little bit of just getting his body right the last week or two, but he will be back to full training by the end of the week and can’t wait to see what he will do this year.”