COACH Paul Roos says the next three weeks is a “dress rehearsal” for his team’s pre-season campaign.  

Roos said it was imperative his side gained as much as it possibly could from its final three matches of the season against Greater Western Sydney, West Coast Eagles and North Melbourne respectively.

“It’s almost like a pre pre-season for us,” Roos said from AAMI Park on Tuesday.

“It’s [about] continued improvement, looking at your list and seeing who can carry out the game style and who can’t carry out the game style.

“[It’s about] seeing the effort needed to play at an elite level and that’s what last week was about, which was what was really important for us.

“Really it’s a dress rehearsal for coaches, players and then they get their break. You hope they don’t take their break early, because it might be a longer break than they think.”

Reflecting on last round’s loss to Hawthorn at the MCG, Roos said he was pleased with the effort – although the Demons went down by 50 points – as opposed to the 23-point loss against the Brisbane Lions at Etihad Stadium in round 19.

“The fact that we were 39 points down at half-time and we only lost the second half by 11 points against a team that has got a lot to play for was a real positive,” he said.

“That’s the effort we need to bring for the next three weeks – regardless of the outcome and we just need to continue to develop as a team.”

“It’s about how we play, as about worrying too much about the opposition for the next three weeks.”