Track Watch: Mason Cox joins veteran Pies, Dees time trial DEES TIME TRIALThe Demons continued their pre-season campaign as some more senior players poured in ahead of schedule with Bayley Fritsch, Christian Salem and Jack Viney all in attendance. The session kicked off with the dreaded 2km time trial. Coaches split the squad into groups starting at staggered locations around the ground. Viney watched on from the sidelines but was vocal in support of his teammates. A lean looking Jacob Van-Rooyen continued his impressive preseason, leading home his group with a time of 6:48. THE RUNNING CONTINUESOnly 15 minutes after the gut-busting time trial, coaches ramped up the intensity with nearly the full squad moving into fast paced ball movement work. Blake Howes saw plenty of the Sherrin and impressed equally with his ball use, showing a level of class by foot. Tom Sparrow also impressed with strong ball use and pressure, regularly forcing errors from teammates as the opposing teams took turns picking their way through the others defence across the length of Gosch’s Paddock. Coaches ensured that the ball was constantly in motion, forcing high intensity running showing a glimpse of what the style under Steven King might look like. SKILLS WORKIt wasn’t all running as the Dees look to alleviate a few problems that plagued their disappointing 2025. The Dees under King are showing a clear intent that they are looking to do the basics better, with the whole squad working through a short session of kick to kick. The forward group also peppered the nets behind the goalposts as they worked on their goalkicking, an area in need of significant improvement after an average year in front of goals.