JAMES Frawley says a longer off-season break has rejuvenated him and the rest of the squad, after a trying 2013. 

The key defender said the demands of the game had reached such a point that the players needed time to freshen up. 

“Definitely. Getting away and refreshing mentally has been the biggest thing,” Frawley told melbournefc.com.au.

“Mentally, getting away from the daily grind of AFL has been good. Don’t get me wrong, being an AFL player is good, but it’s definitely mentally challenging as well, especially when you’re not winning too many games.

“It’s definitely one of the better things the AFL has introduced.”

Frawley said pre-season had been solid so far, but the thing that had caught his eye the most was the overall improvement he had seen among his teammates.

“The body is holding together, which has been nice and hopefully it stays that way, but we’ve ticked that [improvement] box, so that’s been the main positive so far,” he said.

“We’ve had three main sessions – Monday, Wednesday and Friday – with Tuesday and Thursday our lesser days. That’s when we have our weights, physio and meditation, so it’s been really good.

“Misso (Dave Misson) has given more trust to the players and if the boys are a bit sore, he listens to the players about how their bodies are going. It’s been really good and hopefully I can remain on the track for the rest of the pre-season and get ready for a big year.”

Frawley said new coach Paul Roos had already made a significant impact at the club.

“He’s been really good and really positive with the boys. I think he’s just trying to keep the basics right about footy,” he said.

The 25-year-old also said he would again put his hand up to be part of the club’s leadership group for next year.

“All of the players will have a vote, but I’m not sure when that’s going to happen,” he said.

“I’ve learned a lot over the last couple of years and hopefully I can practice that again and try and get better with my leadership skills.”

Although he felt “pretty old” in Melbourne’s squad – he is the 13^th oldest on the list – he said he was determined to help fast track the youngsters.

“We’ve got a good bunch of young blokes,” he said.

“All of the older blokes are trying to develop them as quickly as we can.

“Guys like Jack Viney, we’ve got to keep developing them and hopefully they’ll become good young players for the club, hopefully sooner rather than later. All we can do is help those young guys develop as quick as they can.”