After a month off, the players are enduring the first week of pre-season training and it has been anything but a gentle introduction.

Boxing champion and renowned fitness trainer Mark "Chopper" Burgess showed no mercy as he took the players through a gruelling session at Ballymore this morning, leaving a mass of panting bodies in his wake.

Roar coach Frank Farina said the fitness program had been restructured from previous seasons, in preparation for a 2009/10 season extended by the addition of two new teams into the league..

"We've always placed a big emphasis on fitness. I think we've shown we've competed with every team and run over the top of them towards the end of the games.

"But there's a bit more emphasis on it this year because there are more games - 27 games - and we're going to be missing (some) of the young boys for the (U20) World Cup so we've got to make sure everyone's ready," said Farina.

If Liam Reddy found the going tough he was showing no signs of it, welcoming the workload with open arms.

"A bit of variety in pre-season never hurts and the boys have really taken to it.

"Pre-season is fitness orientated but (this morning's session was) a different sort of fitness which is good. I particularly enjoy it because I'm not doing too much running so it works well for me.

 "I expect high standards from my game and last year I had some games where I wasn't happy with how I went but I'm looking forward to knuckling down this pre-season and hitting the ground running," said Reddy.

The goalkeeper said the addition of Gold Coast United and North Queensland Fury into the A-League helped the team stay motivated, four months out from the start of the season.

"All the players are obviously looking forward to the upcoming year. It's going to be good for Queensland football to have two derbies.

"As much as everyone's talking about the Gold Coast I think it will be just as important to get one over North Queensland as well because, as you see in the rugby league, there's a good three-way battle with them and hopefully that can happen in the A-League too."

The former Newcastle 'keeper faced similar derbies against the Central Coast Mariners during his time at the Jets, but preferred to concentrate on his own club.

"We're happy just to go about our business and go under the radar, so to speak. But it's a long time before (the start of the season) so there's going to be a lot of work done before then," he said.