Paul Roos backs current pre-season system, expects star Demons to be ready for Round 1

MELBOURNE hopes to be close to full strength by Round 1, with Jack Watts, Jeremy Howe and Bernie Vince all expected to return in the NAB Challenge.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 19: Coach Paul Roos looks on after the Melbourne Demons AFL Intra-Club match at Casey Fields on February 19, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Robert Prezioso/Getty Images)

MELBOURNE hopes to be at close to full strength by Round 1, with Jack Watts, Jeremy Howe and Bernie Vince all expected to return in the latter part of the NAB Challenge.

The Demons have taken a cautious approach with the trio, whose pre-season has been interrupted by minor soft-tissue complaints.

Watts was left out of Thursday’s NAB Challenge match against Fremantle so he can put in a solid block of training on his comeback from a groin complaint, while Howe and Vince are recovering from hamstring strains and hope to get in some game time before Round 1.

“Jack’s had an interrupted pre-season with some groin injuries,” football manager Josh Mahoney said.

“He’s got over the majority of that and he’s been building up his training. He took part in a match simulation last week and is probably still a couple of weeks away from playing a game but is progressing well.”

No.3 draft pick Angus Brayshaw was not considered for selection because his pre-season training has been interrupted by a bout of gastro and a couple of head knocks in match practice.

Fellow draftee Alex Neal-Bullen is probably three weeks away from returning after injuring his knee in a wrestling session last month.

Top draft pick Christian Petracca has had surgery to reconstruct his knee and coach Paul Roos joked yesterday that he would have to be held back to protect him from his own eagerness.

“The first thing he (Petracca) said to me (was), ‘Oh the doc said I can play in four or five months’, and I said, ‘Well, the coach said you can’t,” Roos laughed.

He said the Demons would work hard to keep Petracca’s mind active during his season-long rehabilitation.

“What we’ve learned from Jesse (Hogan) is they can really improve in different areas if they do have a long term injury,” Roos said. “We’ll get him back training as soon as we can, but there will be no thoughts of him playing this year.”

The Demons kick off their pre-season series against the Dockers at Fremantle Oval with captain Nathan Jones, former Collingwood star Heritier Lumumba, Chris Dawes and Jack Viney all named to play.

The line-up also includes young forward Hogan, whose much-anticipated debut season last year was ruined by a back injury.

Originally published as Paul Roos backs current pre-season system, expects star Demons to be ready for Round 1