COACH Dean Bailey says entering round one with the fittest list possible remains the team’s No.1 focus.
Although Melbourne finished its NAB Cup/Challenge campaign with two wins and three losses, Bailey said a healthy squad for the start of the premiership season remains the top priority.
“You always try and get your list fit and healthy for round one,” he told melbournefc.com.au following his side’s loss to Hawthorn at Aurora Stadium on Friday.
“Even though we were very cautious in the second half [against Hawthorn], we’ve still got a few blokes who didn’t play, who will certainly be available in round one.
“We’ve got to get the best list we can available. The game-time and training issues are behind us now, so we’ll set the guys for a good solid week and freshen them up for round one.”
Addam Maric continued his impressive form with three goals against Hawthorn, but Bailey also highlighted emerging leader Jack Grimes, defender Colin Garland and fierce tackler Neville Jetta as others to shine this pre-season.
“Addam had an impressive pre-season, but guys coming off our backline, like [Jack] Grimes was good again and Garland was good down back … we also missed Neville Jetta’s tackling [against Hawthorn],” he said.
“The boys have improved in the sense of having another pre-season into them and we’ve got the nucleus of a good team, but we’ve just got to now play lots of games and spend time playing footy together.”
Bailey said his team is now champing at the bit to take on the Swans in round one, but understands that it will be a genuine test for the Demons.
“It’s going to be an exciting first round for us against Sydney at the MCG, but it’s going to be very challenging for us,” he said.
“We’ll put a solid week of training in this week and then we’ll certainly fresh them up for the following week.”
Although Melbourne finished its NAB Cup/Challenge campaign with two wins and three losses, Bailey said a healthy squad for the start of the premiership season remains the top priority.
“You always try and get your list fit and healthy for round one,” he told melbournefc.com.au following his side’s loss to Hawthorn at Aurora Stadium on Friday.
“Even though we were very cautious in the second half [against Hawthorn], we’ve still got a few blokes who didn’t play, who will certainly be available in round one.
“We’ve got to get the best list we can available. The game-time and training issues are behind us now, so we’ll set the guys for a good solid week and freshen them up for round one.”
Addam Maric continued his impressive form with three goals against Hawthorn, but Bailey also highlighted emerging leader Jack Grimes, defender Colin Garland and fierce tackler Neville Jetta as others to shine this pre-season.
“Addam had an impressive pre-season, but guys coming off our backline, like [Jack] Grimes was good again and Garland was good down back … we also missed Neville Jetta’s tackling [against Hawthorn],” he said.
“The boys have improved in the sense of having another pre-season into them and we’ve got the nucleus of a good team, but we’ve just got to now play lots of games and spend time playing footy together.”
Bailey said his team is now champing at the bit to take on the Swans in round one, but understands that it will be a genuine test for the Demons.
“It’s going to be an exciting first round for us against Sydney at the MCG, but it’s going to be very challenging for us,” he said.
“We’ll put a solid week of training in this week and then we’ll certainly fresh them up for the following week.”
