“I THINK pre-season is just going to get harder and harder for the players and I’m sure they’re aware of that.”

On the first official day of Melbourne’s preparation towards its 2015 campaign, Roos said the demands of the game were only going to increase. 

“[The way] the game’s going, it’s going to go to another level again,” he said.

“We saw Hawthorn’s effort in the Grand Final with tackling and pressure and run. We’ve seen where Port [Adelaide] has taken the offensive game and I don’t think the players are in for a relaxing six weeks, where they’re not going to be doing too much.

“It’s going to be tough and we need to continue to improve – and improve significantly to keep up with the lower end [of the competition], let alone to bridge the gap to the top end.”

Roos said Melbourne was much further advanced this time compared to last year, when there was only “about 12 players on the track”.

“This year, [there are only Jack] Trengove, [Jake] Spencer and Bernie Vince who won’t be doing full sessions, so that’s really exciting,” he said.

“The second year, the players know the game plan and we don’t have to explain all of the drills. I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into it and having a good block before Christmas.”

Roos said recruits Heritier Lumumba (199 AFL matches), Jeff Garlett (107), Sam Frost (21) and Ben Newton (four) – who have played 331 AFL matches combined – brought a good blend to the club. He added that he didn’t see picks No.2 and No.3 as the “saviour of the footy club”.

“I think we’ve got some good youth and experience and then we’ve still got picks two and three and 40 [in the NAB AFL Draft],” he said.

Roos said Lumumba was the “prototype we were looking for” and praised Garlett’s record as a crumbing, goalkicking forward.

“We really looked to add speed to our half-back and through the midfield and also through the forward line,” he said.

“He’s (Garlett) kicked 40-something goals in two of the last four years and apart from this year, the other [season] was 30-odd [goals].

“We need an extra midfield/half-back in Lumumba and we need some speed and goalkicking forward of centre and I also think Jeff can go in the midfield as well. To get those two players is massive – and I know our players were super excited to get those players on board.”