LEADER James Frawley says Melbourne’s previous experience in Darwin and its early arrival in the Top End will help maximise its chances against the Brisbane Lions at TIO Stadium on Saturday night.

The Demons arrived in Darwin on Tuesday and stayed at Palmerston, about 30 minutes from the Territory’s capital. The team then returned to Robertson Barracks on Wednesday for some training sessions, the same venue where it was predominantly based for last December’s pre-season training camp.

Frawley said the players also enjoyed getting away together and returning to where it underwent some grueling training sessions. 

“It was good to spend a bit of time with the boys and then go to the army barracks again, which brought back some memories of our hard pre-season slog that we had up here for 10 days,” he told melbournefc.com.au.

“We did some weights and off legs work at the barracks and also trained at TIO Stadium.  

“It was pretty warm and a few of the boys struggled a bit at our first training session, but that’s why we came up here early, so we could get on top of that straight away. The boys trained well and hopefully it’ll hold us in good stead for Saturday night.”

Although Frawley has been to the Territory several times now, he said it was still a shock to the system adapting to the change in climate each time.

“I reckon it is easier coming up earlier, because the first session is always the hardest. Having a few days here to acclimatise to the weather and to training, you actually know what it feels like to play,” he said.

“It’s pretty greasy and slippery at night, especially with the sweat as well. The ball gets a bit wet and slippery, so hopefully the boys will adjust to that quickly.

“I think coming up earlier will help us with that.”

Aside from Melbourne’s two wins against Greater Western Sydney (round four) and Western Bulldogs (round 14) this season, the team’s ‘best’ loss was by 28 points against the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba in round five.

But Frawley said the Lions would be a tough opponent, given they have won three of their past four matches, including two brilliant come from behind wins over the Cats and Kangaroos.   

“They still had a comfortable win back then and they’ve been in really good form in the past few weeks against Geelong and North Melbourne, when they came from behind,” he said.

“They’re in good form, but we’ve also shown some better form in the last few weeks, although not last weekend [against Geelong at Simonds Stadium].

“The free-flowing game has suited us a bit more and hopefully we can get out there and have a crack and the boys can show the Darwin fans what we can do.”

The 2010 All-Australian defender said he expects to play on either Jonathan Brown or Daniel Merrett, with Brent Staker a possibility.

Frawley said coach Neil Craig had made his presence felt since taking over from Mark Neeld midway through the season.

“Craigy’s been really good. He’s been really positive and he’s given us a bit of licence to go out there and play our own game and take the opposition on a bit more,” he said.

“The boys have responded really well and the past month has been reasonable, because we haven’t come from a high base, but we’re slowly getting there.

“We’ve been pretty competitive in the past four games, but the conditions didn’t help us against Geelong. All of the boys have been cracking in and that’s all you can ask.”

With Melbourne set to play four interstate matches in its final seven matches for the season, Frawley said it was a great opportunity for the Demons to gain some experience on the road.

“We’ve got to be able to play anywhere, anytime and in any conditions, whatever opponent, so you’ve just got to take every game as it comes,” he said.

“It’s a good challenge for us as a young team to travel interstate and hopefully we can get a couple of ‘Ws’ (wins) next to our name.”