CO-CAPTAIN Nathan Jones says he spent the day doing fatherly duties and keeping occupied before his first finals appearance since 2006.

Speaking upon arrival, before Melbourne’s first elimination final against Geelong Cats at the MCG, Jones said his day had been “pretty relaxed to be honest”.

“I took [daughter] Bobbi to school this morning and took [son] Remi down to get a haircut and just hung out with [wife] Jerri for a bit,” he told Melbourne Media.

“I went for a walk this afternoon and a dip in the pool, but not too much – I was just trying to take my mind off it.

“I get super excited when I think about it – it’s a great opportunity to finally find ourselves in this position and there has been a lot of hard work that’s gone into it. I’m just excited to be here. I’m well-prepared and looking forward to it.”

Jones said his lead-up to his first final in 12 years was a bit different to his inaugural finals appearance against St Kilda in 2006. 

“I rolled in late that day and I’m about 45 [minutes] early today, so that’s a good start,” he said.

“[It was my] seventh game and I probably wasn’t sure what to expect, but I’ve had a lot of time to think about it and prepare now. I couldn’t be more prepared now, mentally and physically myself.

“I think the team’s in great shape as well, so we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

Jones said the rest of the players were embracing the moment, after having last weekend off with the bye.

“It’s been a long wait. We’ve tried to bide some of that time with the bye, and without playing the game in your head,” he said.

“We’ve been enjoying it day-to-day and enjoying the moment, and soaking up some of the atmosphere and some of the excitement from fans down the street and at training.

“We’re just trying to stay calm and composed right up until the first siren, because you can’t play the game in your head before it actually begins. That’s been the key message and I think most guys are well-prepared for it.

“We’ve been building towards to being in a similar position for a few years now, so guys have played in bigger games and know what to expect. The pressure will be high, but we’re excited by that.

“We’re looking forward to testing ourselves and testing our style of footy that we play.”

With 90,000 to 95,000 people expected to attend, Jones said he …

“I left a lot of time [to get to the MCG] – a lot more than usual. It was probably 45 minutes earlier than I normally would and I got here 45 minutes earlier, so that was a good win,” he said.

“You don’t want to find yourself half way down Punt Rd with only 15 minutes to spare and that’s happened a few times, so we’re well-prepared tonight and a lot of the boys are here pretty early.

“We’ll soak in the atmosphere and start getting ready … hopefully all of the fans get as much enjoyment out of it as we do.”