MELBOURNE assistant coach Scott West says a cautious approach will be taken with the club's new batch of draftees.

The Demons had four of the first 18 picks in November's NAB AFL Draft, and selected midfielders Tom Scully and Jack Trengove with the top two.

Scully has recovered from a fractured patella to recently resume running, while Trengove and Jordan Gysberts have made a smooth adjustment to their training loads.

However, West said Melbourne would not unveil its youngsters in the NAB Cup if they weren't ready.

"When it all boils down we've got to look after their best interests," West told afl.com.au. "Their best interests will be in the best interests of the team. They are 18-year-old kids who started training nine weeks after everyone else on our list.

"We've got to take into consideration that since they've been here they've been on modified programs and we would be doing them no favours if we put them in too early."

West and fellow midfield coach Mark Williams have worked closely with many of the recruits, and West said he was impressed by what he had seen so far.

"They don't train the whole session and we tend to look after them in that regard," he said. "We've got pretty lucky we have the majority of them in the midfield.

"Jack Trengove, Tom Scully, Jordy Gysberts and even Luke Tapscott have spent a bit of time there. Jack Fitzpatrick has done a bit of ruck work with us and young Max Gawn is a bit different because he is coming back from knee injury.

"You see them in the drills, they join in and they certainly have all the attributes to be very good players."

West, who now has a full-time role at the Demons, added that there had been some real signs of improvement in many of the midfielders, including captain James McDonald and Brent Moloney.

"Across the board I think all of our guys have improved," he said. "We've introduced some guys in there who you might see spend a bit of time over the pre-season comp and through the season.

"It is great to introduce new players and the guys who have been through the hard times have also improved."

The Demons had a special treat at Friday's training session at Casey Fields with ill president Jim Stynes making a surprise appearance.

West said the spirits of the players always lifted in Stynes' company.

"No one knew he'd be coming. He is one of those guys who swings in and out and when he's there it is absolutely magnificent."