Prendergast suggested Melbourne would only have a presence in a place such as Ireland if the club had a specific target and was prepared to maximise its recruiting resources.
"There is almost an element that you've got to be in them (emerging markets), but my philosophy is that if you want to be in them you've got to be right in them," Prendergast told melbournefc.com.au.
"There's no point saying, because Collingwood is spending a heap of money over in Ireland for example, or other markets, that you've got to have some presence there.
"You either go there to get players or be fair dinkum about it. You might get a better bang for your buck in the traditional markets. I have no doubt you can still always do that better."
Prendergast believes all clubs still have a way to go when it comes to perfecting the process of identifying and grooming young players for AFL football.
"There are still a lot of players that come through rookie lists," he said. "If we got it absolutely right, there would be minimal players coming through the rookie list and more of those players would've been drafted in the first place."
Technology was also being utilised to help the Demons develop talent, with Prendergast saying the club was tracking its potential draftees through a comprehensive database.
"The club hasn't had a database on players [before] and it hasn't had a database on the intelligence that we've gathered over previous drafts [before]", he said.
"We do all of this work and that intelligence is extremely important, in relation to what you're going to pick for this year and it's also important for comparing drafts and looking at trade opportunities for the future.
"That's something that we've really worked hard to try and get up and running this year."
