Medical room: Ricky Petterd continues to make steady progress in his comeback from a shoulder operation. He was being closely considered for October's match against the Brisbane Lions in China before the medical staff chose the more conservative path. Neville Jetta, Joel Macdonald and Stefan Martin have all battled with hip problems but like Petterd, they are back in full training.
Who's burning: Tom Scully has only been in the AFL system for little over 12 months but his work ethic has already become the stuff of legend. Nathan Jones suffered a heavy back injury in the last game of the season but has bounced back as strong as ever. He and Scully have been leading the way at all the time trials with Jones setting a near-record pace in the two kilometre run. Jamie Bennell's fitness has improved significantly from past pre-seasons while Colin Garland is another to take his running to a new level.
Draftee watch: This time last year Daniel Nicholson was watching VAFA club University Blues go through their paces while he sat on the sidelines wearing his St Patrick's Ballarat jumper. "A bloke from Uni Blues had played for St Pat's and told him he was welcome to have a kick with the team. He ended up having such a good season there that he ended up with a spot on our rookie list," assistant coach Josh Mahoney said. "He's adjusted well to the system because he's 20 years old and has a more mature body than most draftees."
Membership: The Demons reached 20,000 pre-Christmas members for the first time and look set for a record total. Reserved seat sales are almost 20 per cent up on this time 12 months ago and president Jim Stynes hopes the club can eventually have 40,000 members.
After the break: "We've gradually built up our pre-season to look at full-ground ball movement in the last three to four weeks before Christmas," Mahoney said. "In January our focus will be on getting ready for games. When the boys come back we will only be five weeks away so we want to get as much practice as we can in full-ground game-based drills."
Telstra Community Camp: The Demons will be heading to Leongatha in south-east Victoria over February 14 and 15. The two-day trip will see the players train, visit schools, nursing homes and hospitals and also conduct clinics for junior fans.
NAB Cup opener: February 11 v Adelaide and Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium.
What they say: "With the way the first round of the NAB Cup is set up and having such a big list to choose from, there are not many people who will miss out. We will probably play players who have done the majority of training and the way we are heading there looks like there will be a lot to choose from." - assistant coach Josh Mahoney.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.
