NATHAN Jones says it was a humbling experience to be part of the White Ribbon ‘Walk against family violence’ stand at Federation Square on Monday afternoon.
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DeeTV: White Ribbon Walk
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Jones, plus the rest of his Melbourne teammates and coaches, participated in the walk, which started and finished at Federation Square, and ventured through the CBD. He said it was a great initiative by coach Paul Roos to get the players involved in the event.
“I know the players were pretty shocked by the statistics. But to try and support, and raise awareness for White Ribbon Day and domestic violence against women – the boys are pretty proud to be here and honoured to take part in the walk,” Jones said.
“We wanted to be there and wanted to be a part of it and I think it’s a great initiative by him and the footy club to get us involved and to get us out there.
“The more we can raise awareness for this, the quicker we can lower those statistics and stop those tragedies happening in society.”
Meanwhile, Jones said Roos had instilled a “back to basics” approach with the players early on at pre-season training.
“He’s starting to implement how he wants us to play and that’s going to take some time and he’s just trying to form the foundations at the minute,” he said.
“We’ve got straight into some pretty solid skills sessions, which has been good and the boys have really loved that and taken to that. On top of that, we’re doing the conditioning and running side of things.
“It’s really positive at the moment. Roosy, along with all of the new assistant coaches, have brought a real good vibrancy to the footy club.”
Given Jones shouldered a considerable load in the midfield this year, he said the addition of several ball-winning recruits would help significantly.
“Personally, there won’t be as much pressure on individuals and there won’t be as much pressure on the smaller group,” he said.
“Really good teams have 10 or 11 players they can rotate through the midfield at any one time.
“The teams that are vying for premierships have got very strong midfields and that’s one area that Roosy, and by statistics, we need to improve on.”
As for talk of becoming captain under Roos, Jones reiterated that he would love to lead the club, if the opportunity presented.
“I said last week I’m willing to put my hand up and I’d love to captain the footy club – there’s no doubt about that,” he said.
“I’ll go through the process like everyone else. Firstly, I’ve got to get voted into the leadership group and from there we’ll see what happens.”
“We’re going to try and generate a team ethos – how we want to be seen and how we want to be perceived. We’ll work on that first and foremost and from there, over a period of time, the leadership group will be voted.”
