MELBOURNE won’t be seen out on Gosch’s Paddock over the next three weeks, but performance manager Darren Burgess is more than comfortable with where the boys are at.

The Dees have put in a mountain of work prior to the Christmas break and fortunately, have had a pretty good run with injury so far.

“Obviously I wasn’t around last year, but from what they tell me the numbers on the track weren’t fantastic,” Burgess told Melbourne Media.

“So this year, one of the real positives has been we’ve had 38, 39, 40 guys on the track each session.

“I’m really happy with the work they’ve put in – it’s been a solid six weeks.”

Much was made of the Demons’ injury list last season, with a host of key players sidelined on the back of off-season surgeries.

But now, the club’s rehab group is significantly smaller, with just a few of the boys training away from the team.

“We’ve got (Mitch) Hannan and (Oskar) Baker who are carrying over groin issues from the end of last year, so they’re working their way through their running programs,” Burgess said.

“We’re hoping they’ll be back in the main group some point in January.

“Adam Tomlinson, who came with a bit of a calf injury, he’s running now and same sort of thing, mid to late January we’re looking for him to be back in the main group.

“And of course, unfortunately Neita (Aaron Nietschke) went down last week with a reoccurrence of his knee, so he’s another one who’s in the rehab group.”

Charlie Spargo has also missed the majority of the pre-season to date with an ankle issue but is now out of his moonboot.

While Nathan Jones (hamstring) and Tom McDonald (ankle) have had soreness at different times, Burgess said there’s no major concern for the senior pair.

“[It’s] just part of the long-term management of those guys,” he said.

“They’re back in full training and there’s no issue with any of them.

“From time-to-time we’ll just give some of the … more experienced players some time off.”

Burgess knows exactly what it takes to get professional athletes into shape, joining Melbourne fresh off a two-year stint with the Arsenal Football Club.

And while it’s difficult to draw comparisons between codes, he says the Demons’ pre-season to date has been as challenging as it gets.

“It’s certainly as tough as anything that I’ve done in AFL,” he said.

“It’s hard to compare it with the Premier League because it’s only a five-week pre-season.

“But it’s certainly as tough as anything I’ve done, and the players have handled it superbly.”

The boys have to keep their training standards up across the next three weeks to ensure they return to the club in good condition, and Burgess has no doubt they’ll do just that.

“We’ve set a program as a department for the boys but they’re a pretty self-motivated group, so I’m sure they’ll get the right work done and come back firing,” he said.

And while Burgess has received plenty of praise for the implementation of his program, he credits the staff around him for getting things rolling this pre-season.

“The coaching group is a really young dynamic group,” he said.

“What’s been really impressive is the way the high-performance medical team has got together.

“We’ve got as good a team as I’ve worked with, so it’s been absolutely fantastic to get to know those guys and work well with them.”

Melbourne will return to AAMI Park on the 10^th of January to continue its training in the lead up to Round 1.