THE Demons have been back on the track for fewer than two months, but already new coach Paul Roos has seen genuine improvement in the overall list. 

Speaking to Dee TV, Roos said he had noticed a clear difference in the squad since he took over for the start of pre-season in November.   

“I have [noticed improvement], but it’s interesting with [backline coach] Jade [Rawlings], who has been here for a while, he’s probably seen the bigger improvement, just in a general sense that comes after two or three pre-seasons,” he said.

“Like Jimmy Toumpas’ second [pre-season] and Jack Viney’s. Sometimes that’s just a natural progression of guys going through two, three or four pre-seasons – they tend to jump up in their second or third pre-season.”

“Certainly from my point of view, they look as though they have improved and they have embraced things pretty quickly and that’s been good.”

Roos said the players’ attitude had been particularly impressive on the track, but he added that the coaches had highlighted several areas the squad needed to build on. 

“The coaches have dissected it post-season. The guys have been good athletes when they’re running, [but] the biggest deficiency is the game style running, which we’re trying to get them up to speed on,” he said.

“Their ball use is really good. The skill level is quite high, so that’s been an area I’ve been pleased with.

“They don’t necessarily make fundamental errors during training and that’s without pressure. Across the board, I’ve been pleased with the way all of the guys have attacked it.”

Overall, Roos said he couldn’t fault the players’ efforts or enthusiasm before Christmas, but he added that it was imperative they returned in tip-top shape.

“We’ve had a set plan. We’ve tried to get through some stages. The early part was getting them fit with the running. We had a few in rehab, coming off off-season operations, which are not ideal, but a lot of them have caught up a bit,” he said.

“The Christmas period is really important for that group of players, who haven’t done a lot. For the guys that have done most of it, it’s been a really good six or seven weeks. They probably need a mental break, as well as a physical break.

“There are probably two groups of players – the ones that have done everything and the ones that need to catch up. They’ve been really good in terms of their intent. Training sessions have been of good quality, so [there are] not too many complaints [from me].”