A gruelling pre-Christmas training block fuelled by a sense of urgency has put the Saints on an ideal springboard heading into 2023, according to midfielder Seb Ross.

Entering his 12th AFL season, Ross is among a core group looking to drive the standards set by the club’s revamped coaching group, spearheaded by Ross Lyon.

Saints fans witnessed the intensity of the early sessions during Friday’s open training as the Saints plan to attack their 150th year with sustainable success front of mind.

“There’s certainly a sense of urgency in where want to go and that’s really what the program Ross (Lyon) has run right from the get-go, you can see it in the way we’re training and the way we’re running,” Ross said.

“We showed last year – we were 8-3 at the start of the year – we can play really good footy but it’s more about trying to maintain that consistency.

“That’s what Ross and the coaches are really going to try drive, driving those standards so we can become a super consistent team.”

Repeat running efforts have been a fixture of the pre-season program to date as the Saints look to implement a faster style of play.

Players have been given individual programs to complete over the festive break to ensure they return in top condition come the official return to training on 9 January.

A fresh football program means spots are up for grabs across the field, none more so than in the guts as an emerging core pushes the likes of Ross, Brad Crouch and Jack Steele for opportunity.

“It’s the guys underneath; Marcus Windhager, Jack Bytel, Mitch Owens and Ryan Byrnes who have really taken it to another level and are pushing us older guys along,” Ross said.

“We’ve got a really good running group…it should hold us in really good stead come the season for the game plan we want to install.

“The feel of the group is we can really make some gains next year.”