COACH Paul Roos says the players have given their all on Melbourne’s 11-day pre-season camp in Maroochydore, which draws to a close on Thursday.

Speaking early on the final day at Melbourne’s 6am boxing beach session, Roos said the players had been “terrific and really professional” on the camp.

“They’ve trained really hard and we’ve had four or five really good sessions and we’ve done a lot of other stuff, so it’s been really successful,” he told Dee TV.

“We tried to get the boys all together and build on the relationships and also give them more of the game plan.”

“Like most clubs, we’ve been training pretty hard at the moment and have been trying to achieve the objectives we’ve set ourselves.

Roos said the camp had been particularly beneficial for the first-year players.

“We didn’t do one last year, so to come in and get to meet your teammates – it’s been great for the four new blokes from other clubs as well,” he said.

“I think it’s a real advantage because we’ve turned over 20-odd players in the last two years, so everyone has really benefited from getting to know each other.

“[They have also been able to] live with guys they wouldn’t normally live with and spend time with guys they mightn’t have normally spent time with, so that’s certainly been a big positive.”

Roos said he hopes the players will use the camp as a focal point for the upcoming season.

“You hope so. We’ve certainly been doing the work, but every club is doing that and the next 10 weeks is critical for every club to round off their preparation and get as much game time [as possible],” he said.

“Now [players] start thinking about [the] team rather than themselves. I think the first month of preparation for pre-season is all about the individual and trying to get yourself as fit as possible.

“The next stage is thinking about the team and how the team can improve.”

Roos said the players were set to have three days off before returning to training on Australia Day, before launching into another crucial period before the NAB Challenge starts in March.

“The guys will have three days off, which is well earned, so they’ll enjoy that I’m sure,” he said.

“The next week will be a quieter week and then we’ll build it back up again.

“The more game related things we can do [to] understand the game plan – it’s really the focus prior to the NAB Challenge.”