A surprise time trial on top of the one initially planned has put the Saints to the test as the tone for a demanding pre-season was made evidently clear over the weekend. 

Fourteen Saints took part in the back-to-back 1.6km runs at Bricker Reserve on Saturday morning, nine of which hit their target return times in a promising showing across the board.

Skipper Hannah Priest crossed the line first with a sub-six-minute run, followed in quick succession by Tyanna Smith, Hannah Stuart and Caitlin Matthews who all finished within two seconds of each other.

Stuart pipped Priest in the follow-up time trial moments later, with Smith - returning from an ACL injury - again performing strongly to place in third.

"We’re pleased with the progress the girls have made and the direction we’re heading," AFLW High Performance Manager Taylah Jack said.

"We put the girls through the wringer with back-to-back runs, which did come as a surprise, however is necessary as we look to build our competitive edge through training standards and resilience for the upcoming season.

"The resilience shown and ability to dig in with the consecutive time trials was clearly there which was great to see, but as always, we will be looking to improve."

Alice Burke sliced an impressive 46 seconds off from her benchmark run in February, while Ella Friend and Caitlin Matthews also bettered their times by over half a minute.

Tyanna Smith also made strong inroads with a 17-second differential post her knee injury, while Beth Pinchin charted well with a 24-second improvement.

Meanwhile, Erin McKinnon posted her first recorded time following off-season ankle surgery.