Stuart Dew and his coaching staff will take a step-by-step approach in order to build the right foundations over the course of the pre-season.
Having now been at the club for a month, Dew was able to lead his first session as Senior Coach on Monday when the first to four players returned for training.
“We’re certainly not throwing everything at them straight away. We’ll just build it over pre-season,” Dew told the RSN Breakfast Club on Thursday morning.
“We just want to make sure we build a really strong foundation and that’s going to be the challenge for us over pre-season,
“We’re just looking for that constant improvement. There’s some clear KPI’s that we can really chip away at and look to improve across pre-season and across the course of the season up against the best.”
The pre-season focus will revolve around the fundamentals of football, while the coaches will also focus on getting the players to jell together quickly.
Having been involved in premierships as both a player and assistant coach, Dew has a clear understanding of what is required to achieve the ultimate success.
“We’ll simplify and work on the fundamentals, there’s no doubt about that. That’s clear for any side, any club that I’ve been a part of,” he said.
“The basics of football, although it sounds boring, that has been the foundation for teams that play finals over a long period of time.
“We’ve got to make sure we’ve got some good grounding there and then look to improve constantly.”
With a playing list that has a strong spine, there is also a sense that there are plenty of positive signs in different areas.
Dew wants to make it clear to the playing group that age and where a player was picked in their respective draft won’t be key drivers in team selection come the opening round of 2018.
“It’s going to be about who puts in the effort over the pre-season,” he said.
“Essentially, they’ll pick themselves if they put in the effort.”
“There’s so much to work for and it’s all here for us. Now it’s just about getting the work done.”
