ESSENDON captain Jobe Watson only lobbed back at Windy Hill a couple of days ago after a family holiday in Spain, but immediately noticed something different. A lot of his young teammates suddenly looked bigger.

The younger players on the Dons' list are into their third week of pre-season work and already it seems the benefits of the recruitment of former Geelong strength and conditioning coach Dean Robinson are tangible.

All together now: Jobe Watson (front, centre) and coach James Hird (right) with the 2012 Essendon playing list yesterday. Credit:Paul Rovere

"You can see the body shapes have changed for some of the guys at the club," Watson said yesterday.

"It's noticeable that the program that has been put in place has already been effective on most guys. Certainly it has been an eye-opener for the guys who have been doing it for two-and-a-half weeks."