THE days of relying on a pre-season to get players fit are gone, says Power head of high performance Darren Burgess.

Speaking at the Sports Analytics Innovation Summit in Melbourne, Burgess - in his third year back as Port Adelaide's fitness chief - says players are ultimately responsible for their physical state when they return to the club in November each year and clubs can rightfully expect them to be in shape on the first day of training.

Players currently recieve an eight-week break between the end of their club's season and the start of pre-season training.

Burgess believes an elite player must always maintain a reasonable level of fitness, even when on leave.

"It's a hard one, I guess if you had a shorter pre-season, then there might be more expectation on players to come back in a better shape," Burgess told AFL Footy Feed.

"It's real important the players get a break and get a work-life balance, I think by-and-large most clubs get that right.

"[But] I think the days of relying on pre-season to get you fit are probably over, I think you need them to come back in reasonable condition without being in peak fitness."

Port Adelaide's pre-season draws to a close in March with three NAB Challenge matches, commencing against West Coast at Norwood Oval this Sunday.