Oscar McDonald (right).Credit:AAP
Melbourne has put young defender Oscar McDonald through a mid-year mini pre-season to try to unlock his struggling form by helping him build his light body to compete with the big power forwards.
The Demons pulled McDonald out of all playing for three weeks and put him through an intensive three-week weights and agility program to build his body and confidence.
The coaches, including senior coach Simon Goodwin, have joined him in doing extra weights sessions.
The mini pre-season has been structured to be timed around the bye to limit the games missed as the club sought a way to lift his form.
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"In the first part of the season Oscar was not able to do what he wanted to do and we had to find a way to help him get back to playing the footy he knows he can play," Melbourne football manager Josh Mahoney said.
"In the end it got to a stage where something had to be done to get him back playing the footy we know he can play. He did a mini pre-season for three weeks tying it into the bye round.
"The role he plays he is on the biggest strongest forwards in the competition so a lot of it was around strength and weights. We have done similar programs with Sam Weideman earlier in the year when he missed a few weeks. [Rookie tall player] Austin Bradtke as well."
The program was built around strength and agility and not running as players find in season with the volume of running they do it makes it hard to add and sustain weight and muscle.
McDonald did have an operation after the end of the season and missed a large portion of the pre-season which had set him back, Mahoney said.
The defender will return to the VFL this week.
Mahoney said the club would also contact the AFL this week for clarification on the off-the-ball tactics on ruckman Max Gawn.
The harassment of Gawn by Dockers players was constant during the weekends game and has been a regular tactic by teams playing the Demons since Port Adelaide employed the tactic successfully in the opening round.
After the suspension of Hawthorn captain Ben Stratton for pinching last week there was a renewed focus on off-the-ball incidents and a reminder of the niggly small things players do, which the AFL said pre-season, wRead More – Source
Oscar McDonald (right).Credit:AAP
Melbourne has put young defender Oscar McDonald through a mid-year mini pre-season to try to unlock his struggling form by helping him build his light body to compete with the big power forwards.
The Demons pulled McDonald out of all playing for three weeks and put him through an intensive three-week weights and agility program to build his body and confidence.
The coaches, including senior coach Simon Goodwin, have joined him in doing extra weights sessions.
The mini pre-season has been structured to be timed around the bye to limit the games missed as the club sought a way to lift his form.
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"In the first part of the season Oscar was not able to do what he wanted to do and we had to find a way to help him get back to playing the footy he knows he can play," Melbourne football manager Josh Mahoney said.
"In the end it got to a stage where something had to be done to get him back playing the footy we know he can play. He did a mini pre-season for three weeks tying it into the bye round.
"The role he plays he is on the biggest strongest forwards in the competition so a lot of it was around strength and weights. We have done similar programs with Sam Weideman earlier in the year when he missed a few weeks. [Rookie tall player] Austin Bradtke as well."
The program was built around strength and agility and not running as players find in season with the volume of running they do it makes it hard to add and sustain weight and muscle.
McDonald did have an operation after the end of the season and missed a large portion of the pre-season which had set him back, Mahoney said.
The defender will return to the VFL this week.
Mahoney said the club would also contact the AFL this week for clarification on the off-the-ball tactics on ruckman Max Gawn.
The harassment of Gawn by Dockers players was constant during the weekends game and has been a regular tactic by teams playing the Demons since Port Adelaide employed the tactic successfully in the opening round.
After the suspension of Hawthorn captain Ben Stratton for pinching last week there was a renewed focus on off-the-ball incidents and a reminder of the niggly small things players do, which the AFL said pre-season, wRead More – Source
