On 28/11/2025 at 10:33, roy11 said:

Saw this posted on Social Media, not sure if posted on here before, if so apologies.

Cherry Walk Cafe Bright
@melbournefc @stevenmay @kysaiahpicketty thanks to the Melbourne Football Club coming in for lunch .. what a delight to look after you .. enjoy your training time in Bright #lovebright #melbournefootballclub

The Brother Boys!!!

#MattyWhelanIsWorthHisWeightInGold

3 hours ago, Sydee said:

Not trying to swing the topic back to heart issues again PF?

Are you inferring that Jeffo is lacking something in that department? 😉

3 hours ago, hardtack said:

Are you inferring that Jeffo is lacking something in that department? 😉

Perhaps you are? 😄

Who was the afl boss who was with us on the hike & apparently got lost & found by a code sports journalist & found the afl boss had no water

An article about our preseason in the HUN, behind as paywall. Anyone be bothered to get it and share it?

11 minutes ago, buck_nekkid said:

An article about our preseason in the HUN, behind as paywall. Anyone be bothered to get it and share it?

Its already been shared.

4 hours ago, dees189227 said:

Who was the afl boss who was with us on the hike & apparently got lost & found by a code sports journalist & found the afl boss had no water

Guerra …went right instead of left

5 hours ago, Sydee said:

Perhaps you are? 😄

Me? Never! 😁

6 hours ago, hardtack said:

Me? Never! 😁

hows the health now Hardy

17 hours ago, hardtack said:

Are you inferring that Jeffo is lacking something in that department? 😉

Crass comment by Sydee but totally expected!

13 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Its already been shared.

Great, can you please point me to it? Looking back through this thread hasn’t revealed it. Thx in advance!

https://archive.md/vSNju#selection-1037.0-1111.122

Is it me, or does the article end kind of abruptly?

On 28/11/2025 at 10:33, roy11 said:

Saw this posted on Social Media, not sure if posted on here before, if so apologies.

Cherry Walk Cafe Bright
@melbournefc @stevenmay @kysaiahpicketty thanks to the Melbourne Football Club coming in for lunch .. what a delight to look after you .. enjoy your training time in Bright #lovebright #melbournefootballclub

That is an awesome indigenous crew (I use the term losely) - surely one of the best representations in the AFL right?

10 hours ago, Deestar9 said:

Guerra …went right instead of left

I just knew it'd be Guerra when I saw the headline.

54 minutes ago, Demon Disciple said:

Is it me, or does the article end kind of abruptly?

Yep..looked for the next page.. 🤔🤷‍♂️🤣

4 hours ago, picket fence said:

Crass comment by Sydee but totally expected!

Why crass and why expected - may I ask?

“Somebody connect their phone!”

Kysaiah Pickett wants to lift the energy level in a team minibus rumbling its way up towards the top of Mount Porepunkah on Friday morning.

For about 10 minutes, the van has been tailing two Demons players on mountain bikes as they tackle one of the toughest climbs in the Victorian High Country.

The pair of players have to give “maximum effort” for three minutes before they hand off their bikes to the next duo and jump back inside the van.

It’s the gruelling final episode of Melbourne’s pre-season camp, which began with school clinics and community activities in the Alpine region before high performance boss Selwyn Griffith was given command for the final two days on Thursday and Friday.

The main theme for the trip is “connection”, and while it was a word uttered countless times by Melbourne officials last year, it’s been recast for different reasons ahead of 2026.

With a first-time senior coach and a monumental shift in the playing group after Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver’s departures, the camp was viewed as an important first step to build relationships.

The Herald Sun was invited to stay with the club in Bright to observe the final two days of the Demons’ camp.

“Here, Kozzy,” says Jack Steele as he leans forward from the second row of seats to fiddle with the Bluetooth settings.

Pickett is sprawled out in the back seat next to his riding partner Andy Moniz-Wakefield after a tough first set on the bikes.

It doesn’t take long for his phone to strike a connection with the van, and the Demons superstar’s pick for the first track of the climb is Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody.

Some light tapping on the steering wheel suggests the introduction of music has been welcomed by new coach Steven King, who is driving this van and directing most of his focus towards not running over the current cyclists on duty – Jake Melksham and strength coach Tommy Turner.

The set timer rolls over and the former St Kilda captain Steele is on the clock next, faced with the difficult task of keeping up with his roommate for the week, Harry Sharp.

Sharp, a former junior national champion steeplechaser, has been in his element over the last two days of the Demons’ camp.

“I kept yelling out to (Sharp), telling him not to make me look stupid,” Steele says after his spell on the bike.

“He’s a freak runner, it turns out he’s pretty good on the bike too.”

Steele manages to keep Sharp within a kick’s distance for the full three minutes and sets the tone for the pair of big-bodied midfielders to follow him – Harvey Langford and Riley Onley.

There are a few reasons big-bodied midfielders are not commonly found in pelotons during the Tour de France, and this pair’s job is made tougher with a particularly steep incline ahead of them.

With the benefit of a pre-season already under his belt, Langford opens an early gap on his new teammate, but Onley digs in with some encouragement from the support van.

Melksham rolls back the door to call out to the draftee, and Pickett also pokes his head out.

“C’mon Onley-Fans,” Pickett yells.

MELBOURNE'S 'CONNECTION' CAMP

It has been a whirlwind week for Onley, who was on the hook for three nights before he became the fifth and final draftee to join the Dees with pick No. 3 in the rookie draft.

The 18-year-old Murray Bushrangers recruit was pushed to his limits during a post-training session 6km run through the Mount Buffalo National Park.

The first three kilometres on the uneven surface were entirely uphill and a handful of players had to call it quits – but not Onley, who stormed home with a big grin on his face.

“I saw Jesus today,” he told King afterwards.

Pickett and Moniz-Wakefield put in another three-minute effort on the bike climb before there is momentary confusion as the van misses a turn and the next riders start descending the other side of the mountain.

Moniz-Wakefield, who looks in good nick after a season ruined by an ACL injury, is outraged as Melksham gets to cash in on a downhill segment.

The veteran forward descends so aggressively that it takes more than a minute for him to return to the van’s sights after the end of his set.

“Where’s Melky?” King asks as the players on the left-hand side of the van peer nervously down the embankment on the side of the road.

Once Melksham is safely back on board, King turns the van around and finds the path to the summit, where they are the last group of Demons to arrive.

It marks the end of a physically and mentally challenging two days for his new side, and it builds nicely into his aspirational first theme for the group.

“You had to buy in and throw yourselves into it. From a coaching perspective, you’ve taken care of footy, but more importantly you’ve thrown yourselves into any work that we’ve done,” King says.

“I haven’t heard anyone whinging or moaning, you’ve just been like, ‘What’s next? Get after it’.

“I think this can be a foundation for us, moving forward. And especially where we are right now … there’s going to be some hiccups along the way, but we’re looking to get the top of the mountain.”

King poses for a photo on the mountaintop with Melbourne skipper Max Gawn after the ride.

“Four metres of leadership,” King jokes.

Gawn is first to admit he would not be near the front of the group during running drills on an oval, but he powered up the daunting climb during the Mount Buffalo run on Thursday and then led all-comers when they were then made to hike 10km to a lookout near the peak.

“This is my type of stuff,” he says to photographer Michael Klein at the end of the hike.

As well as the captain, key forwards Luker Kentfield and Jacob van Rooyen were among the most impressive on the Thursday run, which Harry Sharp won by a significant margin.

Exhausted but pleased with his run, van Rooyen plonked himself down near the finish line – only to find he was on top of a bullant nest.

“Aw, just keep moving mate,” King said with genuine concern as the 22-year-old jolted upright clutching at his backside.

Friday began at a slightly more gentle pace for the Dees as they paired up in inflatable kayaks to travel down the Ovens River from Bright.

Stephen Smith, in his first week as Melbourne president after taking over from Brad Green, joined Shane McAdam in a kayak.

14 hours ago, Deestar9 said:

Guerra …went right instead of left

A sign of the times

Paul Guerra getting lost in a Victorian alpine region is a good omen for the club in terms of how the Demons are expected to fare in the coming season.

The last time Melbourne people got lost in the Victorian snow country, it was in the 50s when we were winning premierships.

3 minutes ago, Whispering_Jack said:

Paul Guerra getting lost in a Victorian alpine region is a good omen for the club in terms of how the Demons are expected to fare in the coming season.

The last time Melbourne people got lost in the Victorian snow country, it was in the 50s when we were winning premierships.

He's not having much luck with anything involving a bike recently

On 27/11/2025 at 16:58, Where Demons Dare said:

We arrived in the quaint little town of Myrtleford at 9am with a small crowd of primary school kids and roughly 15-20 onlookers. The boys were already into their drills with two different groups on either side of the wings, roughly 15 - 20 players either side.

Rehab:

Viney, Matthews, Henderson, AMW, McAdam, Jefferson and later Bowey who looked quite ginger (pun intended). Viney and Matthews doing repeat walking up and down a flight of stairs with some black devices in their mouths. Not sure of its purpose but it could possibly be to ensure they breathe through their nose? They then followed up with hand and eye coordination and reflex drills (juggling, ball tossing to one another in rapid fire) at which point Henderson joined them. After that finished the 3 of them spent the rest of the session doing weight training. The other rehabbers in AMW, McAdam and Jefferson were all doing repeat 100m boundary runs for the majority of the session followed by some touch work (reflexes) where a trainer would bullet kick to Hendo or McAdam who were standing 1 meter in front of each other and they had to trick each other into marking or letting it go so the guy behind him marked it, if the ball dropped the guy in-front won. It was amusing to watch. Hendo got the better of McAdam. Jefferson integrated into the main group with some drills.

Main training:

I was mainly focusing on the big group in-front of us, where they would use just the arcs from back 50 to fwd 50 working on ball movement. In this drill it was a 5 v 7 match up with the bigger group attacking and the smaller defending transition. The bigger group would use either corridor or wing, there was no real preference. I was paying attention to the new kids on these drills and was really impressed with Onley, he's a great size and so agile. Taylor was a bit disappointing with his kicking, he shanked quite a few kicks.

The next drill was 5 v 3 using 3/4 ground ball movement drills, taking the ball from the back 50 to a forward marking close to goal.

Mihocek, Tmac, Adams and Campbell doing 1v1 marking/spoil drills on each other while a trainer kicked in a high ball deep in the fwd 50.

The next drill had the boys doing quick handball movement where it was a 2 v 3 match-up with the trainers acting as the defenders and there were 3 attacking players who had to get past them within a 25m coned off area. Once the attackers had reached the end of the cones the next 3 were straight into play. It was non stop and the boys were pretty gassed by the end of it. Culley, Langford, Pickett and Windsor were the best in these drills.

The boys then went on to do 9 v 9 full ground ball drills trying to score end to end. There was a passage where CJ took on Kosi through the corridor thinking he could break away but was quickly taken down by Kosi. CJ was filthy with himself. The boys laid some crunching tackles during these plays. I saw JVR take down May and then quickly get up to pressure the loose ball in play and take down the next player. I was impressed with JVR's repeat efforts. The boys were absolutely gassed from these drills at it's the closest to match sim they could replicate. A lot of the boys were on their haunches sucking in the big ones trying to recover. I don't think I've ever seen Kosi so gassed he and many of the boys took a full minute to get back up.

The players then broke into their lines with their respective coaches (fwds, mids, defenders) I was paying close attention to who was in each group. Mentha and Laurie was in the fwds group and Chandler gave Laurie a big hug saying "welcome back, we missed you". Sharp, White and Latrelle also in the forward line. Rivers, Taylor and Turner in defence. Tholstrup and Culley with the mids.

As the training was drawing to a close, the entire main group would do 80m - 90m repeat sprints that they had to complete in 10/11 seconds and rest about 20-30 seconds before going again. They did about 10 of these repeat sprints.

Now that training was finished, Kingy brought the group in for a quick chat and then sent the players off to sign autographs and to some meet and greets with the locals.

Observations:

Draftees -

• Onley looked really impressive, I thought he moved very well and was so agile for a big mid. His kicking was a bit hit and miss. One definitely to watch.

• Taylor still very green, but he did some great tackles and pressure during ball movement drills. Kicking was a bit iffy today.

• Latrelle integrated well with the group, he moves well and has great pressure, he looks the most likely of our first draftee to break into the team.

• White was really good, he already seems like a regular player. I think doing the pre season last year with Melbourne has helped him to fit in right away with the team.

• Matthews was obviously doing rehab but is a good size and didn't look that much smaller than Hendo or Viney. He'll be good for us.

• Berry looks to be a medium defender in size and build. He'll need a bit of time to catch up to the AFL standard fitness levels, but I'm hopeful he'll strengthen our backline in time to come. Has leadership qualities.

That's about all I can think of for now. I hope you guys enjoy the report.

Cheers.

Outstanding!

Norris one bit about Taylor, he’s a special one that kid.. but Onley is the gem for mine, will need to tap into his uniqueness to bring it all together but if we do lookout.. Cale Morton if he had lateral movement and any sort of ticker (harsh but true).

4 hours ago, Demonland said:

“Somebody connect their phone!”

Kysaiah Pickett wants to lift the energy level in a team minibus rumbling its way up towards the top of Mount Porepunkah on Friday morning.

For about 10 minutes, the van has been tailing two Demons players on mountain bikes as they tackle one of the toughest climbs in the Victorian High Country.

The pair of players have to give “maximum effort” for three minutes before they hand off their bikes to the next duo and jump back inside the van.

It’s the gruelling final episode of Melbourne’s pre-season camp, which began with school clinics and community activities in the Alpine region before high performance boss Selwyn Griffith was given command for the final two days on Thursday and Friday.

The main theme for the trip is “connection”, and while it was a word uttered countless times by Melbourne officials last year, it’s been recast for different reasons ahead of 2026.

With a first-time senior coach and a monumental shift in the playing group after Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver’s departures, the camp was viewed as an important first step to build relationships.

The Herald Sun was invited to stay with the club in Bright to observe the final two days of the Demons’ camp.

“Here, Kozzy,” says Jack Steele as he leans forward from the second row of seats to fiddle with the Bluetooth settings.

Pickett is sprawled out in the back seat next to his riding partner Andy Moniz-Wakefield after a tough first set on the bikes.

It doesn’t take long for his phone to strike a connection with the van, and the Demons superstar’s pick for the first track of the climb is Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody.

Some light tapping on the steering wheel suggests the introduction of music has been welcomed by new coach Steven King, who is driving this van and directing most of his focus towards not running over the current cyclists on duty – Jake Melksham and strength coach Tommy Turner.

The set timer rolls over and the former St Kilda captain Steele is on the clock next, faced with the difficult task of keeping up with his roommate for the week, Harry Sharp.

Sharp, a former junior national champion steeplechaser, has been in his element over the last two days of the Demons’ camp.

“I kept yelling out to (Sharp), telling him not to make me look stupid,” Steele says after his spell on the bike.

“He’s a freak runner, it turns out he’s pretty good on the bike too.”

Steele manages to keep Sharp within a kick’s distance for the full three minutes and sets the tone for the pair of big-bodied midfielders to follow him – Harvey Langford and Riley Onley.

There are a few reasons big-bodied midfielders are not commonly found in pelotons during the Tour de France, and this pair’s job is made tougher with a particularly steep incline ahead of them.

With the benefit of a pre-season already under his belt, Langford opens an early gap on his new teammate, but Onley digs in with some encouragement from the support van.

Melksham rolls back the door to call out to the draftee, and Pickett also pokes his head out.

“C’mon Onley-Fans,” Pickett yells.

MELBOURNE'S 'CONNECTION' CAMP

It has been a whirlwind week for Onley, who was on the hook for three nights before he became the fifth and final draftee to join the Dees with pick No. 3 in the rookie draft.

The 18-year-old Murray Bushrangers recruit was pushed to his limits during a post-training session 6km run through the Mount Buffalo National Park.

The first three kilometres on the uneven surface were entirely uphill and a handful of players had to call it quits – but not Onley, who stormed home with a big grin on his face.

“I saw Jesus today,” he told King afterwards.

Pickett and Moniz-Wakefield put in another three-minute effort on the bike climb before there is momentary confusion as the van misses a turn and the next riders start descending the other side of the mountain.

Moniz-Wakefield, who looks in good nick after a season ruined by an ACL injury, is outraged as Melksham gets to cash in on a downhill segment.

The veteran forward descends so aggressively that it takes more than a minute for him to return to the van’s sights after the end of his set.

“Where’s Melky?” King asks as the players on the left-hand side of the van peer nervously down the embankment on the side of the road.

Once Melksham is safely back on board, King turns the van around and finds the path to the summit, where they are the last group of Demons to arrive.

It marks the end of a physically and mentally challenging two days for his new side, and it builds nicely into his aspirational first theme for the group.

“You had to buy in and throw yourselves into it. From a coaching perspective, you’ve taken care of footy, but more importantly you’ve thrown yourselves into any work that we’ve done,” King says.

“I haven’t heard anyone whinging or moaning, you’ve just been like, ‘What’s next? Get after it’.

“I think this can be a foundation for us, moving forward. And especially where we are right now … there’s going to be some hiccups along the way, but we’re looking to get the top of the mountain.”

King poses for a photo on the mountaintop with Melbourne skipper Max Gawn after the ride.

“Four metres of leadership,” King jokes.

Gawn is first to admit he would not be near the front of the group during running drills on an oval, but he powered up the daunting climb during the Mount Buffalo run on Thursday and then led all-comers when they were then made to hike 10km to a lookout near the peak.

“This is my type of stuff,” he says to photographer Michael Klein at the end of the hike.

As well as the captain, key forwards Luker Kentfield and Jacob van Rooyen were among the most impressive on the Thursday run, which Harry Sharp won by a significant margin.

Exhausted but pleased with his run, van Rooyen plonked himself down near the finish line – only to find he was on top of a bullant nest.

“Aw, just keep moving mate,” King said with genuine concern as the 22-year-old jolted upright clutching at his backside.

Friday began at a slightly more gentle pace for the Dees as they paired up in inflatable kayaks to travel down the Ovens River from Bright.

Stephen Smith, in his first week as Melbourne president after taking over from Brad Green, joined Shane McAdam in a kayak.

4 hours ago, Demonland said:

“Somebody connect their phone!”

Kysaiah Pickett wants to lift the energy level in a team minibus rumbling its way up towards the top of Mount Porepunkah on Friday morning.

For about 10 minutes, the van has been tailing two Demons players on mountain bikes as they tackle one of the toughest climbs in the Victorian High Country.

The pair of players have to give “maximum effort” for three minutes before they hand off their bikes to the next duo and jump back inside the van.

It’s the gruelling final episode of Melbourne’s pre-season camp, which began with school clinics and community activities in the Alpine region before high performance boss Selwyn Griffith was given command for the final two days on Thursday and Friday.

The main theme for the trip is “connection”, and while it was a word uttered countless times by Melbourne officials last year, it’s been recast for different reasons ahead of 2026.

With a first-time senior coach and a monumental shift in the playing group after Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver’s departures, the camp was viewed as an important first step to build relationships.

The Herald Sun was invited to stay with the club in Bright to observe the final two days of the Demons’ camp.

“Here, Kozzy,” says Jack Steele as he leans forward from the second row of seats to fiddle with the Bluetooth settings.

Pickett is sprawled out in the back seat next to his riding partner Andy Moniz-Wakefield after a tough first set on the bikes.

It doesn’t take long for his phone to strike a connection with the van, and the Demons superstar’s pick for the first track of the climb is Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody.

Some light tapping on the steering wheel suggests the introduction of music has been welcomed by new coach Steven King, who is driving this van and directing most of his focus towards not running over the current cyclists on duty – Jake Melksham and strength coach Tommy Turner.

The set timer rolls over and the former St Kilda captain Steele is on the clock next, faced with the difficult task of keeping up with his roommate for the week, Harry Sharp.

Sharp, a former junior national champion steeplechaser, has been in his element over the last two days of the Demons’ camp.

“I kept yelling out to (Sharp), telling him not to make me look stupid,” Steele says after his spell on the bike.

“He’s a freak runner, it turns out he’s pretty good on the bike too.”

Steele manages to keep Sharp within a kick’s distance for the full three minutes and sets the tone for the pair of big-bodied midfielders to follow him – Harvey Langford and Riley Onley.

There are a few reasons big-bodied midfielders are not commonly found in pelotons during the Tour de France, and this pair’s job is made tougher with a particularly steep incline ahead of them.

With the benefit of a pre-season already under his belt, Langford opens an early gap on his new teammate, but Onley digs in with some encouragement from the support van.

Melksham rolls back the door to call out to the draftee, and Pickett also pokes his head out.

“C’mon Onley-Fans,” Pickett yells.

MELBOURNE'S 'CONNECTION' CAMP

It has been a whirlwind week for Onley, who was on the hook for three nights before he became the fifth and final draftee to join the Dees with pick No. 3 in the rookie draft.

The 18-year-old Murray Bushrangers recruit was pushed to his limits during a post-training session 6km run through the Mount Buffalo National Park.

The first three kilometres on the uneven surface were entirely uphill and a handful of players had to call it quits – but not Onley, who stormed home with a big grin on his face.

“I saw Jesus today,” he told King afterwards.

Pickett and Moniz-Wakefield put in another three-minute effort on the bike climb before there is momentary confusion as the van misses a turn and the next riders start descending the other side of the mountain.

Moniz-Wakefield, who looks in good nick after a season ruined by an ACL injury, is outraged as Melksham gets to cash in on a downhill segment.

The veteran forward descends so aggressively that it takes more than a minute for him to return to the van’s sights after the end of his set.

“Where’s Melky?” King asks as the players on the left-hand side of the van peer nervously down the embankment on the side of the road.

Once Melksham is safely back on board, King turns the van around and finds the path to the summit, where they are the last group of Demons to arrive.

It marks the end of a physically and mentally challenging two days for his new side, and it builds nicely into his aspirational first theme for the group.

“You had to buy in and throw yourselves into it. From a coaching perspective, you’ve taken care of footy, but more importantly you’ve thrown yourselves into any work that we’ve done,” King says.

“I haven’t heard anyone whinging or moaning, you’ve just been like, ‘What’s next? Get after it’.

“I think this can be a foundation for us, moving forward. And especially where we are right now … there’s going to be some hiccups along the way, but we’re looking to get the top of the mountain.”

King poses for a photo on the mountaintop with Melbourne skipper Max Gawn after the ride.

“Four metres of leadership,” King jokes.

Gawn is first to admit he would not be near the front of the group during running drills on an oval, but he powered up the daunting climb during the Mount Buffalo run on Thursday and then led all-comers when they were then made to hike 10km to a lookout near the peak.

“This is my type of stuff,” he says to photographer Michael Klein at the end of the hike.

As well as the captain, key forwards Luker Kentfield and Jacob van Rooyen were among the most impressive on the Thursday run, which Harry Sharp won by a significant margin.

Exhausted but pleased with his run, van Rooyen plonked himself down near the finish line – only to find he was on top of a bullant nest.

“Aw, just keep moving mate,” King said with genuine concern as the 22-year-old jolted upright clutching at his backside.

Friday began at a slightly more gentle pace for the Dees as they paired up in inflatable kayaks to travel down the Ovens River from Bright.

Stephen Smith, in his first week as Melbourne president after taking over from Brad Green, joined Shane McAdam in a kayak.

This is an outstanding insight into what it takes to be a Dee in 2026.

Bring it on!

7 hours ago, Demonland said:

Stephen Smith, in his first week as Melbourne president after taking over from Brad Green, joined Shane McAdam in a kayak.

“Somebody connect their phone!”

Kysaiah Pickett wants to lift the energy level in a team minibus rumbling its way up towards the top of Mount Porepunkah on Friday morning.

For about 10 minutes, the van has been tailing two Demons players on mountain bikes as they tackle one of the toughest climbs in the Victorian High Country.

The pair of players have to give “maximum effort” for three minutes before they hand off their bikes to the next duo and jump back inside the van.

It’s the gruelling final episode of Melbourne’s pre-season camp, which began with school clinics and community activities in the Alpine region before high performance boss Selwyn Griffith was given command for the final two days on Thursday and Friday.

The main theme for the trip is “connection”, and while it was a word uttered countless times by Melbourne officials last year, it’s been recast for different reasons ahead of 2026.

With a first-time senior coach and a monumental shift in the playing group after Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver’s departures, the camp was viewed as an important first step to build relationships.

The Herald Sun was invited to stay with the club in Bright to observe the final two days of the Demons’ camp.

“Here, Kozzy,” says Jack Steele as he leans forward from the second row of seats to fiddle with the Bluetooth settings.

Pickett is sprawled out in the back seat next to his riding partner Andy Moniz-Wakefield after a tough first set on the bikes.

It doesn’t take long for his phone to strike a connection with the van, and the Demons superstar’s pick for the first track of the climb is Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody.

Some light tapping on the steering wheel suggests the introduction of music has been welcomed by new coach Steven King, who is driving this van and directing most of his focus towards not running over the current cyclists on duty – Jake Melksham and strength coach Tommy Turner.

The set timer rolls over and the former St Kilda captain Steele is on the clock next, faced with the difficult task of keeping up with his roommate for the week, Harry Sharp.

Sharp, a former junior national champion steeplechaser, has been in his element over the last two days of the Demons’ camp.

“I kept yelling out to (Sharp), telling him not to make me look stupid,” Steele says after his spell on the bike.

“He’s a freak runner, it turns out he’s pretty good on the bike too.”

Steele manages to keep Sharp within a kick’s distance for the full three minutes and sets the tone for the pair of big-bodied midfielders to follow him – Harvey Langford and Riley Onley.

There are a few reasons big-bodied midfielders are not commonly found in pelotons during the Tour de France, and this pair’s job is made tougher with a particularly steep incline ahead of them.

With the benefit of a pre-season already under his belt, Langford opens an early gap on his new teammate, but Onley digs in with some encouragement from the support van.

Melksham rolls back the door to call out to the draftee, and Pickett also pokes his head out.

“C’mon Onley-Fans,” Pickett yells.

MELBOURNE'S 'CONNECTION' CAMP

It has been a whirlwind week for Onley, who was on the hook for three nights before he became the fifth and final draftee to join the Dees with pick No. 3 in the rookie draft.

The 18-year-old Murray Bushrangers recruit was pushed to his limits during a post-training session 6km run through the Mount Buffalo National Park.

The first three kilometres on the uneven surface were entirely uphill and a handful of players had to call it quits – but not Onley, who stormed home with a big grin on his face.

“I saw Jesus today,” he told King afterwards.

Pickett and Moniz-Wakefield put in another three-minute effort on the bike climb before there is momentary confusion as the van misses a turn and the next riders start descending the other side of the mountain.

Moniz-Wakefield, who looks in good nick after a season ruined by an ACL injury, is outraged as Melksham gets to cash in on a downhill segment.

The veteran forward descends so aggressively that it takes more than a minute for him to return to the van’s sights after the end of his set.

“Where’s Melky?” King asks as the players on the left-hand side of the van peer nervously down the embankment on the side of the road.

Once Melksham is safely back on board, King turns the van around and finds the path to the summit, where they are the last group of Demons to arrive.

It marks the end of a physically and mentally challenging two days for his new side, and it builds nicely into his aspirational first theme for the group.

“You had to buy in and throw yourselves into it. From a coaching perspective, you’ve taken care of footy, but more importantly you’ve thrown yourselves into any work that we’ve done,” King says.

“I haven’t heard anyone whinging or moaning, you’ve just been like, ‘What’s next? Get after it’.

“I think this can be a foundation for us, moving forward. And especially where we are right now … there’s going to be some hiccups along the way, but we’re looking to get the top of the mountain.”

King poses for a photo on the mountaintop with Melbourne skipper Max Gawn after the ride.

“Four metres of leadership,” King jokes.

Gawn is first to admit he would not be near the front of the group during running drills on an oval, but he powered up the daunting climb during the Mount Buffalo run on Thursday and then led all-comers when they were then made to hike 10km to a lookout near the peak.

“This is my type of stuff,” he says to photographer Michael Klein at the end of the hike.

As well as the captain, key forwards Luker Kentfield and Jacob van Rooyen were among the most impressive on the Thursday run, which Harry Sharp won by a significant margin.

Exhausted but pleased with his run, van Rooyen plonked himself down near the finish line – only to find he was on top of a bullant nest.

“Aw, just keep moving mate,” King said with genuine concern as the 22-year-old jolted upright clutching at his backside.

Friday began at a slightly more gentle pace for the Dees as they paired up in inflatable kayaks to travel down the Ovens River from Bright.

Stephen Smith, in his first week as Melbourne president after taking over from Brad Green, joined Shane McAdam in a kayak.

Stephen Smith, in his first week as Melbourne president after taking over from Brad Green, joined Shane McAdam in a kayak."

Yes, that's abrupt! Did they hear banjos or something?

Edited yesterday at 11:371 day by Go Ds

17 hours ago, ghost who walks said:

hows the health now Hardy

Pretty much the same as ever as despite being on a break, the effects of the chemo just seem to want to hang around. I’m back on that toxic juice again starting from the 5th January, so any thoughts of getting down to Melbourne to catch some training are pretty much now on the back burner; probably for at least the next six months. But, as I keep saying, being the pragmatist that I am, none of this ever really gets to me anyway (at least I can watch the games on the tellie)… it’s the music that I’ll miss.

Edited yesterday at 13:271 day by hardtack