MELBOURNE player/coach performance manager Brendan McCartney provides an update on all 45 players in the lead-up to the 2017 season. Be sure to check back each day for most of January, as we present this year’s squad …

Jack Trengove

Trenners had a slow start to the pre-season, as he carried a different injury through the back part of the 2016 VFL season. He just came back into training before Christmas, but he’s still the same resilient, tough person we’ve come to know. He’s dealt with a lot, but the focus with him has been on some areas of his game around his footwork, agility and his ability to win the ball in tight. We’ll keep doing that with him. But he’s not hard to work with – he’s such a high-quality lad.

Dom Tyson

He’s really come on again. His running, his understanding of the game and where he positions himself – he’s become pretty close to an elite, first possession player. He’s very good around the ball and distributes it well. I think you’re going to see an incredible young player emerge in the next one to two years. Dom had an unfortunate setback just before Christmas, but he’s attacking his rehab in the same intensity as his pre-season.

Aaron vandenBerg

He was in rehab pre-Christmas after having post-season surgery. He started training just before Christmas. He’s a really driven young bloke, who got a chance later in life through the non-traditional channels and he’s aware of that. But he’s also very confident in his own ability and we love that about him. He’s tough, strong at the ball and knows what he wants. His best footy often coincides with our best footy.