MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 29: Caleb Daniel of the Bulldogs runs with the ball past Jed Adcock of the Bulldogs during the Western Bulldogs AFL media opportunity and training session at Whitten Oval on September 29, 2016 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)
Fresh from winning the club's first premiership since 1954, the Western Bulldogs are ready to hit the ground running once again in 2017.
Youngster Caleb Daniel, who is recovering from shoulder reconstruction surgery in the off-season, says his teammates have all comeback in peak condition, as they eye another flag.
“The guys have really come back well over the off-season and have looked after themselves really well,” Daniel said.
“They’ve come back in great nick and training is really elevated and we’ve hit the skills and the running component at 100 per cent already.
“Everyone’s come back in really great nick. Coming back as premiers is pretty foreign territory for us, but I think most of us are pretty cruisy guys who don’t let it affect us too heavily. The vibe’s been great.”
Daniel said the club is inspired by the likes of Hawthorn and Geelong, who have maintained the hunger year after year and enjoyed a long period of success over the past decade and hopes the Dogs can do the same.
“You can look at the Hawthorns that have done it for a fair while, they really strive to be the best that they can be and we’ve done that over the last couple of years as well,” he said.
“You taste that success and one is not enough. You really want to keep striving to get better and improve.
“The VFL guys that played in the premiership and that weren’t fortunate enough to play in the AFL premiership are really pushing the AFL players. There’s that competitive balance within the team that is what great teams are made of.”