MELBOURNE is amidst its second week of training since returning from the Christmas break, and elite performance manager David Misson says the group is in good shape.
After competing in September last year, the Demons had a late start to the pre-season and as a result, there were a number of players in rehabilitation.
But with the season edging closer, the fitness across the board is now looking positive for the club.
“A large majority of the rehab group is starting to filter back in,” Misson told Melbourne Media.
“Gus (Angus Brayshaw) had a back-issue pre-Christmas which has been resolved.
“The shoulder guys that we had, Harmesy (James Harmes), Neville (Jetta), Jayden (Hunt) and Vanders (Aaron vandenBerg), all joined in training on Monday so they’re virtually full contact now.
“They’ll all do most of the sessions from here on in.”
Misson isn’t worried about too many of the players in a long-term capacity and believes the majority of the rehab group is now ready for full training.
“Billy (Stretch) did 80 percent of the session on Monday – he had that toe operated on last year,” Misson said.
“Oscar (McDonald) had a hip scope, so he’s been going really well in rehab. He’s back in full training now, as is Tim Smith who had an ankle scope, and Trac (Christian Petracca) who had a knee scope.
“There are no major concerns long-term.”
Eight players remain in the rehab group, so with the club set to head on its pre-season camp next week, Misson has provided an update on their individual progress.
Oskar Baker
“Oskar Baker is due to do some training on camp. He did a pretty bad hamstring injury towards the end of the VFL season. Because speed is his main weapon we’ve taken a fair bit of time with him and he’s now put together some really good fast running in rehab.”
Mitch Hannan
“He had a double knee scope so he’s going OK. He hasn’t started football stuff yet but he’s doing a bit of running.”
Nathan Jones
“He just had some back and hamstring issues before Christmas and over the Christmas period that’s been a little bit slow. Because he’s a bit older and it’s the first hamstring he’s done we’re taking it a little bit slower.”
Jake Lever
“Lever had a few issues pre-Christmas primarily with some nerve stuff but he’s definitely over the hump now. He’s starting to run fast, he’s doing agility and looking to start some one-on-one skill stuff next week. We’re confident now he’s over the little issue he had pre-Christmas and he’s starting to put in some really consistent training.”
Jake Melksham
“He’s another one who just had a little hamstring thing before Christmas which has been slow and it’s similar to an injury he had during the season last year. So we’re just taking a little bit more time with it.”
Clayton Oliver
“Clarry had both shoulders [operated on]. He actually joined in a drill on Monday, so he’ll be doing more and more with the group over the next couple of weeks. By the end of camp we expect he’s going to be in full training.”
Jack Viney
“Vines is going really well. He’s probably put together his most consistent training period. So he’ll do some training with the group on camp and then afterwards he’ll be back.”
Guy Walker
“Guy had an issue with his shoulder pre-Christmas just in a contact drill. He actually had a procedure during the Christmas break which is going to be a reasonably slow recovery.”
