Geelong's first- to fourth-year players are back on the track this week to start their pre-season, beginning preparations for an exciting 2026 AFL campaign. 

One of the players featuring on the opening day of training was star defender, Lawson Humphries as the Cats young crop were put through their paces. 

Humphries enjoyed another consistent year in 2025 as he continues to cement his spot in Geelong's back six, averaging over 16 disposals per game and performing strongly on Grand Final day. 

With two strong seasons under his belt, Humphries said he is looking forward to a full pre-season where he can develop his athletic traits.

"I think for me personally, I just want to keep developing my athletic side," Humphries told Cats Media.

"I want to keep getting stronger and fitter, I think that was probably the main thing.

"Playing my first full year of AFL, I probably felt as the year went on I struggled a bit with that. I think for me, I just want to get better with that.

"As a group, we are all really hungry obviously. It felt like we had a pretty good year, hopefully go one step better next season."

With a block of training ahead prior to Christmas, it provides an opportunity for players to get some kilometres in the legs before the season quickly rolls around in the new year. 

Humphries said that while there are no games on the horizon, it is a chance for the Cats to really push themselves to the limit. 

"You are just trying to smash yourself really," Humphries said.

"I think it is really important to try and push yourself, push the boundaries is the most important thing. We are still a long way away from playing games, you don't really need to look after yourself too much with regards to getting yourself ready for a match.

"For us it is important just to keep pushing ourselves, to see how strong and fit we can get.

"Then running that through to the Christmas break, because I think that is the difference when we are away, to make sure we keep on it. It is definitely important this pre-Christmas block, to just push ourselves and get better."

There were plenty of positives to take from Geelong's 2025 season despite a disappointing conclusion, with a number of young stars emerging and setting up a bright future for the club. 

The playing group took the opportunity to get away from the limelight at the end of the year, travelling to all corners of the globe as they enjoyed the chance to reset before returning for the pre-season. 

For Humphries, it was a trip back home to Western Australia and some time with family that awaited in the off-season, with a quick visit across the ditch to New Zealand in between. 

It was some valuable time off for the young star, who said it made him excited to return to Geelong and get cracking at training.  

"I went home for a lot of it, spent a lot of time with the family which was really nice. Then just had a week in Queenstown which was really good, a beautiful spot and good to have a bit of a break," Humphries told Cats Media.

"I am super keen to be back, I was really keen to come back to Geelong and get back into it.

"I think that time off is really important, and obviously pre-season is a really important block for us. We are trying to get better and I think having that time off is really important, having a bit of time away from the boys and everybody comes back with a lot of energy which is a lot of fun.

"It is good to see everybody back and everyone looks like they are in pretty good nick."