FLEET-FOOTED fullback Will Feeney made giant strides in his maiden season in the Shute Shield and was named the Hunter Wildfires' best back.
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With a full pre-season ahead, Feeney plans to hit the "Turbo" button.
Feeney is among a core of last year's side, which had climbed to ninth when the season was suspended due to COVID, back for another campaign.
"Will has had a year at it now," coach Scott Coleman said. "He is still only a 22-year-old kid and is only going to get better and better. He hasn't done a full pre-season before, which will be awesome for his development.
"He wants to be our Tommy 'Turbo' Trbojevic. Roam in attack, be around the ball, pop up wherever he sees a hole, and be a ball player as well. He needs to be smart about when to inject himself into the attack. He also needs to be explosive and supremely fit to play that type of game."
The Wildfires began preparations for 2022 Shute Shield campaign this week with three testing sessions, measuring physical attributes, agility, speed and strength.
The Shute Shield begins on April 2, with the Wildfires hosting Gordon in round one, giving Coleman five months to get the squad in prime condition.
It's a major improvement on the two previous seasons when he had five weeks to assemble a squad and get them fit.
"We are 1000 miles ahead of where we have been in the past," Coleman said. "We have a squad of 35 guys who have committed. We are obviously still building and by January we will have 50 players ready to have a crack."
"We have to be fitter, we have to be stronger and we have to be more clinical at the breakdown. Those are our focus points of the pre-season."
Strength and condition coach Shannon Mackie will have a physical profile of the players by the start of next week and will test again at the start of January.
"Shannon brings professionalism and greater sports science element," Coleman said. "He will get the most out of players if they invest and buy in. He goes over and above.
"We will be twice as fit as we have ever been. The blokes who don't buy in will get left behind."
The Wilfires/NSW Waratahs academy squad also underwent testing and will continue to work with the senior squad.
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