DURING a break between terms in Brisbane's match simulation in Hobart, coach Chris Fagan wasn't happy.

After highlighting a couple of passages of play he was pleased with, Fagan turned his attention to something that drew his ire.

"What did you do that quarter," he quizzed one of his players.

After a couple of answers that didn't line up with what the coach was hoping for, he gave some help.

"You tried to kick a couple of goals out of your arse instead of looking for a teammate. That's not how we do things. Make sure it doesn't happen again."

Fagan didn't raise his voice. It wasn't a rude message, it wasn't belittling. It was instructional.

Twenty minutes later at the next break between terms, Fagan drew attention to the same player who had squared the ball to set up a goal.

Brisbane's eight-day camp in Hobart – its fourth straight year of visiting Tasmania during the pre-season – was another pillar in moving on from a breakout 2019 season.

AFL.com.au was one of three journalists invited along and given access to coaches and players for the final 48 hours of the camp.

Prior to the match simulation at Kingston's Twin Ovals, players, coaches and support staff met in a room adjoining the ground, with full length windows on each side looking out on to the pristine, lush surface.

After travelling south from Brisbane the day prior and leaving behind 32-degree temperatures with humidity giving it a 'feel like' temperature of 38, the drizzly overhead conditions were a blessing.

Fagan referenced the semi-final loss to Greater Western Sydney in his 10-minute team meeting, where Brisbane seemingly had the ball camped inside its forward 50 for most of the final quarter but were unable put their opponents away.

He asked what they did wrong in that match. Back-up ruckman Archie Smith voiced something his coach wanted to hear – the ball movement was too careful and predictable.

Fagan wanted to reinforce that before the players hit the field for the upcoming three by 15-minute hit-out. "Change angles, use your teammates, be brave". It was something he would reiterate to me in a sit-down conversation with him later that afternoon.

He's always referred to the AFL as an "entertainment industry" and he wants his players to play accordingly.

The 46 players – only Lincoln McCarthy remained in Brisbane as his partner gave birth to their first child – weren't the only ones listening. Veteran backline coach Murray Davis next took the floor.

Simon Meredith and Ray Chamberlain had flown in from Melbourne to umpire the match. Davis introduced them, asking each man what their profession was away from AFL.

With straight-faced Meredith midway through his answer, 'Razor' was getting itchy.

"It's not all about you, Ray," Davis interjected, drawing the biggest laugh from the whole room, including the men in green, of the morning.

The most enlightening part of the camp would be the match itself.

We wandered across the ground, so much softer than Brisbane's usual base at Yeronga, which until very recently has seen precious little rain for 12 months.

Footy manager David Noble, CEO Greg Swann and welfare manager Andrew Crowell would watch with the journos and answer anything we wanted to know.

It was a 'best against the rest' set-up with a few exceptions. Mitch Robinson, Allen Christensen and Noah Answerth watched from sidelines, nursing minor niggles, while McCarthy was obviously absent.

When Alex Witherden took an intercept mark 20m from his own goal late in the match, I asked Noble what the instruction for him was. I wanted to know just how aggressive the players were encouraged to be.

By the time Noble got his answer of "to play on instinct" out, the ball had moved two kicks down field and Charlie Cameron was squaring it to Cam Ellis-Yolmen for a goal.

The on-field exchanges during breaks in play were intriguing. The players of the 'A' team had most of the answers by the time Fagan even addressed them. Harris Andrews reminded everyone at the first change there wasn't enough "first gives" (handballs or kicks to the nearest teammate), while Lachie Neale noted the big improvement during the second term in that area and wanted the midfielders to be acknowledged for that.

Sam Skinner was the star of the show. A 22-year-old who has overcome three knee reconstructions and marked everything in sight to kick 3.2.

Brisbane played all of last season with two specialist ruckmen, but on this day Stefan Martin and Oscar McInerney would be opposed, backed-up by Connor Ballenden and Skinner respectively.

"Are you guys seriously looking at playing just one ruck and a back-up," I asked.

In all likelihood it was most likely because Smith was sidelined with a knee niggle, limiting the genuine ruck stocks, but Noble assured us the Lions were weighing up all their options.

Cam Ellis-Yolmen and Neale feasted on clearances, while Rhys Mathieson fought a brave midfield fight from the overwhelmed 'B' team.

Noble agreed there was some tough decisions to be made ahead of round one.

Post-match, the players completed some skills and any additional running they needed to get an adequate volume for the day. Daniel Rich was powering around the boundary line to 'top up', while Harris Andrews fielded firmly flung ground balls from his line coach Davis.

The players are very chatty.

Former Port Adelaide premiership player Kane Cornes had been invited for a day after questioning the Lions' hunger to top their 2019 exploits in a pre-Christmas radio segment.

Christensen went over for a chat with Cornes, Fagan was engaged for a long time, and Neale – who Cornes played alongside at Glenelg a decade ago – also chewed the fat.

Noble said there was plenty to learn from people that had been around the game as long as Cornes.

Back at the team's dormitory accommodation at the University of Tasmania, it was Dayne Zorko and Rich who made their way to the table where myself, Cornes and News Corp's Greg Davis were eating a late lunch.

It's not unusual for Zorko to do that – he's the captain, and chatty. But Rich is a quieter soul. Three years ago he was always pleasant enough to engage in small chit-chat, but now he was the instigator, happy to ask and field questions for the next 20 minutes.

Neale and Jarrod Berry came over, young defender Mitch Hinge offered bottles of water. They're little things, but indicative of a squad that's not only happy, but collectively a thoughtful and polite bunch.

Brisbane has improved dramatically in each of Fagan's three years in charge.

Getting to spend a nice amount of time around the whole group, their attention to detail and thirst for improvement is evident, and clearly a sign they'll be taking nothing for granted in 2020.