TOM McDonald has taken out Melbourne’s first three-km time-trial for the year at Princes Park on Wednesday.

The key defender edged out Jack Grimes and new recruit Tom Bugg in tough conditions to secure first place.

Speaking to Dee TV, McDonald said that it was a solid effort for the first hit out of the year.

“It was good to get it out of the way to be honest; it’s not a very fun test,” he said.

“The boys ran not too bad I think; the conditions weren’t great but we did OK.

“We had wind down the back, but they made it up pretty well on the way back with the tailwind, so given the conditions, I think we did a pretty good job.”

McDonald said pre-season training had started well with the players raring to go.

“It’s been a good start, [there’s] been a lot of footy work straight up,” he said.

“The guys got told ‘we really want you to be in footy condition straight away and not just ready to run, but ready to tackle, jump, mark,’ … so straight away, we’re into it.

“Then we had the draft [on Tuesday night] so it will be good to see the new boys in the next week or so, so it’s all going well."