Melbourne’s fitness program and the club's knowledge they can bring their best form out of the bye will be spurring the Demons on against the Bulldogs next Saturday, according to Kane Cornes and Justin Leppitsch.
Simon Goodwin’s men secured the week off after beating Brisbane in the Qualifying Final and then famously exploded out of the blocks against Geelong to record a huge 83-point win.
They also beat the Bombers after the midseason bye.
Cornes believes the Demons are in “pretty good hands” with the way their fitness program is run and is confident they can bring their best after a break once again.
“Melbourne have nailed it really haven’t they,” he told SEN Crunch Time.
“They nailed the bye last time and they came out red hot against Geelong.
“Darren Burgess is in charge of their fitness program, he’s been around for a long time and he’s as good as any in the game. He will have them mapped out to the kilometre in terms of their preparation.
“All I know is that they’re in pretty good hands.”
Former Richmond assistant Leppitsch sees a ‘Tiger’ element in the way the Demons go about preparing over the bye.
“It seems that Melbourne is doing what Richmond did as standard, pretty much have a game the week before, not a full game… But it’s the manic nature that you’re exposing the players to,” he said.
“You need to keep those hits up.”
Richmond won three premierships between 2017-2020 and Goodwin would take comfort from using tried and tested methods to prepare.
The Demons are trying to break a 57-year flag drought and a win over the Bulldogs next Saturday will see Max Gawn become the first Melbourne premiership captain since Ron Barassi.