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Tom Mitchell,right,plays during the 2018 finals series.Credit:AAP

‘‘He’s certainly looking pretty sharp ... the plan at this point is that he’ll be ready to play some time in the pre-season games and be ready for round one,’’ assistant coach Sam Mitchell said on Friday.

‘‘He’s on track. He’s had a pretty slow progression over a bit over 12 months now. He’s in good spirits,he’s started to do some match play stuff,but he still dons the blue[non-contact] hat to make sure that no one cannons into him too much.

‘‘He’s started to be the normal Tommy that we’re used to.’’

Mitchell’s early departure from the session is part of the club medical staff’s tailored program to slowly build him up to full workloads ahead of round one.

Jonathon Patton,the No.1 pick at the 2011 draft,also ramped up his bid to earn a spot in the round one side that will take on Brisbane at the MCG on Sunday,March 22. The former GWS forward hasn’t played since round 15 of the 2018 season after undergoing a third knee reconstruction,but looms as a potential replacement for retired premiership star Jarryd Roughead.

‘‘He’s trained really strongly,his last couple of weeks have been really good,we’ve started to really see some good things,’’ Mitchell said of Patton.

‘‘He kicked a couple of goals in an intra-club match a couple of days ago.

‘‘He’ll certainly spend some time on the field in the[pre-season] series.’’

Jarman Impey,who ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament in round 18 last year,ran laps on Friday and is slated for a late-season return after he completes a 12-month rehabilitation.

AAP

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