The Logan Saints have begun their pre-season training in earnest as they look forward to making an impact in the 2011 Brisbane first-division rugby union competition.

The Saints commenced training in December under last year's coach Wayne Greenhalgh with a view to improving on their solid 2010 season.

Unfortunately, the flooding of south-east Queensland impacted on Greenhalgh's work commitments and meant that he needed to take a step back from the intense workload that comes along with being a hands-on first-grade rugby coach.

Logan have announced that Greenhalgh will continue as coaching director and Doug Dry will be stepping into the void left by Greenhalgh as first-grade coach with Jarrod Elmers named as his assistant.

Dry was already heavily involved in the coaching set-up at the Saints and his commitment to the club has been demonstrated over the years in a number of roles, including being a former captain of the first-grade side during his playing days.

A focus on fitness and intensity has been one of the key concerns for the Saints as they prepare for what will no doubt be a long and tough campaign during 2011.

With a view to doing everything possible to ensure that Logan's players are as fit as possible for the start of the season, the Saints have announced specialist fitness coach Mark 'Chopper' Burgess (www.teamchopper.com) as a key part of their regime.

Burgess is a former Australian amateur boxing champion, who has since his retirement made a name for himself as one of Australia's most prominent fitness coaches.

He has taken the role of fitness and conditioning expert with the Brisbane Broncos, Melbourne Storm and most recently the NZ Warriors from the NRL.

His expertise has been utilised by the Queensland Reds and the Brisbane Lions as well, and he counts an array of prominent Australian sports stars, including Lote Tuqiri, Justin Hodges, Wendell Sailor, Berrick Barnes and Johnathon Brown, amongst his personal clients.

The Saints' players are excited at gaining from the professional expertise of such a well-credentialled mentor and Burgess is scheduled to take his first training session with the Saints on Monday, 7 February 2011.

In other news, the Logan Saints have scheduled their first trial match of the pre-season against the Nerang Bulls on 12 March 2011 at Nerang.

All players are encourage to make it to training to ensure that they're prepared to make the most of their opportunity to impress at this early stage.