Fifteen players turned up at Bellevue Oval for the first pre-season session last Thursday, a pleasing number for returning player-coach Zac Economou.

“That’s good for this time of year,” he said.

“15 is a really good start for us.”

This early in the season fitness is obviously the focus for Economou and his troops.

“We will get the footies out every now and then, but at the moment we are just trying to get some running in the legs,” he said.

In a major boost for the Nomads, 2013 club best and fairest winner Jed Ellis-Cluff will return to the side this season and has also signed on to act as assistant coach to Economou along with club stalwart Adrian Walsh.

“He is a fantastic footballer,” Economou said of Cluff.

“He can play in the midfield and along the forward line.”

The Nomads dominated once again in 2014, only losing one match on their way to a third straight grand final win and the rest of the competition may have their hands full again in 2015.

“We’ve only lost one player from last year,” Economou said.

“That’s Clinton Ballagh, he’s moving back to Victoria.

“It’s the best year since I’ve been involved with the club in terms of player retention.”

Training will ramp up quickly for the Nomads, with the competition to start three weeks earlier in 2015 than last season.

Economou is expecting the competition’s other sides to be doing everything they can to prevent the Nomads winning an unprecedented fourth consecutive title.

“I think it showed last year if the other sides played their best football and we weren’t on the ball they could really push us,” he said.

“It’s up to us to keep getting better and stay out in front of the other sides.”

Training continued at 6pm Tuesday and Thursday at Bellevue Oval.