Essendon draftee Angus Clarke has impressed the club by blitzing his new teammates in the 2km time trial.
Clarke joined the Bombers with Pick 39 in last week's AFL Draft with a strong aerial capability and attacking attributes likened to Mason Redman.
Brad Scott and his coaching group planned to put the players through their paces early in the pre-season, putting their off-season efforts to the test with a time trial.
The South Australian was an early favourite among teammates despite most saying Redman and Sam Durham would take out the gold.
However, a keen observer noticed that Clarke "comfortably" took out the aerobic test, leaving his vice-captain and senior teammates in his wake.
Clarke has seemingly put his injury setbacks behind him, staking strong claims at the Bombers early in the piece.
The medium-sized defender is in a similar mould to Redman and Jordan Ridley, and will help bolster Brad Scott's backline.