NATHAN Jones says Melbourne got everything it wanted to out of this year’s pre-season camp in Queensland.

The co-captain said it was “hard to beat” coming up to the Sunshine Coast for training, although heavy rain played a part this time around.  

“Training was the main objective, but in the meantime, there was a little bit of downtime to get among the boys and build better relationships and spend time together – away from the daily grind at home,” he told melbournefc.com.au.

“We spent a lot of time around each other, which gave everyone a great chance to get to know each other better.

“I really enjoyed that aspect, especially getting to know the younger boys, and rooming with them and cooking dinners with them, and spending that downtime together – it’s vitally important to build up strong connections and relationships.”

Jones said the cooking duties also worked well with his roommates.

“We had the standard barbeques most nights – myself, Dom Tyson and Jay Kennedy Harris took most of the reins, with young Oskar Baker tagging along. Although he didn’t contribute too much to the rooms to be honest,” he said with a smile.

“He (Baker) won the Masterchef cook-off the other night, which sparked us up to wind him up.

“He did a few dishes here and there and did some odd jobs, but we were expecting a bit of a lift from him.”

Jones said he also managed a few surfs with some mates.

“[I got a couple of surfs in], but the weather took a turn for the worse,” he said.

“But myself, Hoges (Jesse Hogan) and Harmesy (James Harmes) have surfed a little bit, and Josh Wagner as well, just out the front of where we’re staying.

“It was shaping up to be quite promising there for a bit, but the weather took a turn. Still, it’s been fun and we’ve had some good activities to get amongst it.”