Leaden skies, a little drizzle, bit of a chill factor on the breeze conspiring for a temperature of around 16 degrees.

Yes, if the players needed a reminder, this was affirmation they were back in Melbourne.

As the West Coast contingent disembarked the bus at Punt Road Oval for their captain’s run (many thanks to Richmond for their hospitality) one of the Tigers officials suggested until today the weather in the city had been perfect. Around 27 degrees yesterday.

But the sun, it seems, has been and gone. It’s not going to poke its head through the heavy cloud cover until the Eagles fly home, after tomorrow’s clash with St Kilda at Marvel Stadium.

The good news is that the weather is never a factor at Marvel. The slightest threat of any rain and the roof closes more quickly than the covers are rolled on to pitch at Lords.

The weather was only a brief discussion point at this captain’s run, sadly playing out in the absence of skipper Luke Shuey who had undergone hamstring tendon surgery just a couple of hours earlier in Perth.

But the boys have a job to do and they were pretty chirpy.

As usual, bubbly forward Liam Ryan was the life of the session, casually taking pot shots at goal from the 50 metre arc and carrying comfortably half way up the netting behind the goals at the Punt Road end.

As the ball was flicked around during a couple of drills the vibrant nature of the group was evident.

Tim Kelly and Andrew Gaff did their thing with Nic Naitanui in the middle; Isiah Winder, Nathan Vardy and Jake Waterman, all of whom travelled having not played in the Port Adelaide victory, worked to impress.

The match committee will assemble again to finalise the team and they all want to be in it. They train like it.

Veteran defenders Shannon Hurn and Brad Sheppard, who will hit milestones tomorrow, are as consistent with their approach to this session as they are with their diligent preparation every week. They have had a long time to settle on a routine that works for them, 289 and 199 games into their respective careers.

The forwards finish, as they so often do, with a goal-kicking comp from the boundary. Ryan is again setting the tone. A little dig here, a jibe there as teammates line up for goal.

They’re like big kids and he’s the ring leader. They are all grinning. They are doing what they do and they’re having fun. Their love of the game is clearly evident.

With the 60-minute hit out complete, they kick off their boots, put on their runners, grab back packs and return to the bus. It’s now time to resume their usual pre-game practices.