THEY SAY the pre-season is where it all begins and if KaneCornes' summer form is anything to go by he's on track for another scorchingyear.

The younger Cornes brother took out the Power's best andfairest this season and also received his second All-Australian honour.

But the super-fit perfectionist is determined to pushhimself even further this pre-season.

"I ran a personal best in the 3km time trial the otherday, so I was happy with that and that's all you can really go by in terms ofjudging your fitness," he said.

"I'm feeling really good and I love this time of year.It's great to be able to get out there and train and not have the pressure ofplaying on the weekend, so it's a great time of year."

Cornes enjoyed a superb 2007 and established himself as botha premier ball-winner and a tagger.

The premiership player has dropped a couple of kilograms offhis light frame and is focusing on laying the foundation for another solidyear.

"I'll probably sit down in January some time and setsome goals for next season, but at the moment I'm just really enjoying trainingand trying to get myself as fit as I can," he said.

"I think that gives you the best possible chance tohave a good year and so far it's gone well.

"On the field, I think I'll just continue to do my bitfor the team, whatever that is, and do it as best as I can like I always try todo."

Cornes' enthusiasm appears to have rubbed off onto some ofhis teammates.

Travis Boak, who is mentored by Cornes, is one player whohas shown a marked improvement in his fitness.

"A few of the young guys like Travis Boak and JustinWesthoff have come back in pretty good shape," he said.

"Matt Thomas too; there has been a fair bit said abouthim, but I think he's in for a big year and he's set himself for that. He'sbeen pushing me in the [distance] runs and Tom Logan is also a really goodrunner."

The mentoring role is something Cornes is keen to continuenext year even if he's not voted into the club's official leadership group.

Cornes was left out of the group this season in favour ofShaun Burgoyne and the now-retired Josh Mahoney.

"I haven't really thought too much about the leadershipgroup. I really enjoyed my work last year with Travis Boak and Adam Thomson,which I saw as a leadership role.

"I'm sure the group will sit down and vote for theleadership group soon and if I'm in it I'm in it and if I'm not, I'll continueon like I did last year."

For now the playing group is more worried about what's atstake over the summer.

The players have been divided into six different groups andwill compete for points, which will then be tallied at the end of thepre-season to decide a winner.

Bodies were flying in the handball game on Wednesday withboth the navy and black teams keen to claim victory.

"We've broken up into teams this year and it was allcompetitive stuff today," Cornes said.

"Once it's competitive or for points the boys tend togo pretty hard."