Braydon Preuss sheds 9kg as he aims to form a ruck partnership with Max Gawn in 2020
Melbourne ruckman Braydon Preuss has mirrored Max Gawn’s dramatic weight loss in a bid to revitalise his career and play alongside his big man teammate next season.
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Braydon Preuss has dropped 9kg in a move that echoes Max Gawn’s dramatic 2017 weight loss as the pair hatch a plan to become a dominant ruck duo next year.
The Demons senior players return to training on Monday to atone for this year’s disastrous campaign, dropping from a 2018 preliminary final to second-last within 12 months.
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Gawn lost 8kg after a disappointing 2017 season then peeled off successive All-Australian seasons in which he also won the club best-and-fairest.
The jury is out on whether Preuss can play a meaningful role alongside him after seven senior games in a 2019 year where he battled a shoulder injury from Round 4.
But he has dropped from his listed 2019 weight of 114kg to 105kg, believing it will help him cover the ground more easily as he plays a ruck-forward role.
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Clubs this year began to play dual ruckmen again, with West Coast (Nic Naitanui/Tom Hickey), Richmond (Ivan Soldo/Toby Nankervis) and Port Adelaide (Scott Lycett/Paddy Ryder or Peter Ladhams) all keen to play two bigs.
Gawn’s regime saw him doing fitness every day of the off-season, including during trips to New York and Los Angeles, as penance for a poor 2017 where he battled hamstring issues.
Gawn is expected to win the captaincy alongside Jack Viney this summer, endorsed by departing assistant Brendan McCartney recently as the pair who showed the most leadership and care for players.
Melbourne will host ex-Fremantle half-forward Harley Bennell from December 3 as he trials for a rookie spot but have ruled out securing ex-Pies defender Sam Murray.
Ex-Bomber Mitch Brown has been linked to the Demons, but Essendon has no interest in ex-Tiger Callum Moore despite reports last week.
The Demons are not allowed to host Bennell before December but he is already ramping up his preparation after calf surgery.
Melbourne’s senior players have already filtered back into training at times in recent weeks, with Tom McDonald back running after his disastrous 2019 season.
He and Sam Weideman will hope to team effectively as key forwards after they combined for only 29 goals this year as the Demons’ key-position stocks flopped.
Weideman will have a delayed start to the summer after a hip cleanout.
A slimmed-down Steven May has already started his summer of toil, desperate to rebound after an injury-hit debut season where he was criticised for drinking several beers on the day his relationship ended.
Nathan Jones will hope for a bumper summer after being pushed out of the midfield onto the wing and half back and eventually signing a new deal despite a protracted negotiation.