JUSTIN Plapp says the form of Max Gawn and Clayton Oliver – arguably Melbourne’s best two performers so far, this season – is simply attributed to their sheer hard work behind the scenes.  

Plapp said the duo had produced outstanding pre-seasons, but their “daily habits” had resulted in the form they were producing in 2018.

“You look at those two guys and if you lived with them day-in, day-out, you’d see how they prepare and how they train – a lot of their performances are a reflection of how they prepare,” he told Melbourne Media.

“Max has been building over the last few years and if you have a look at his pre-season, he ticked a lot of boxes in the gym, in his running and in the footy side of things. I think consistency has come through that, along with his leadership as well. He wants to play well and he’s really proud to perform.”

“’Clarry’ (Oliver) over the past two years has been building really good preparation and habits and you can see his rewards [in winning last year’s best and fairest and his form this year].”

Plapp, the club’s midfield coach, said it was pleasure to coach players such as Gawn and Oliver, who have taken their games to new levels in recent times.

But equally, Plapp was relishing seeing the likes of Angus Brayshaw starting to flourish in the midfield.

“I think Gus is an interesting one, because he had such an indifferent year last year through things he couldn’t control,” he said.

“He started the year slowly, but we were able to sit down with him and work out some things around his footy and preparation. The stuff that you see now has been a real big reflection of that too.”

Plapp said Brayshaw had worked hard on some areas of his game to get back into the side – and into the midfield.

“Gus will be the first to admit that there were some gaps in his preparation and around his footy, and to his credit, he’s really taken ownership of that. He’s changed some things from day-to-day and what his week looks like,” he said.

“We never doubted his talent, and what he was able to deliver, but a lot of it has got to work hand in hand. If you have inconsistent weeks with training and diet, for example, most of the time it leads to the way you play.

“A lot of the stuff that we do (the line coaches) – myself, Troy Chaplin and Max Rooke – is trying to point them towards some consistent habits off the field, which includes their education, craft sessions and their diet.

“I think Gus, in particular, and I’m really proud of him, as he’s been able to change some of that stuff – it wasn’t diabolical – it was just some minor adjustments and it’s worked for him.

“He’s built some confidence in his game and once you get some momentum in that, it’s pretty infectious. We’re really proud of what he’s been able to do, and the challenge for him now is to sustain it – that’s going to be the real reward.”

Plapp said the overall attitude of the players, and their ability to make some improvements, after a couple of losses, had been among the most noticeable differences in recent times.

“It’s been a good couple of weeks for us. We had a period of time where we weren’t playing the type of football we know we’re capable of playing, but there were reasons for that,” he said.

“To get some consistency has been pleasing, and we’ve certainly been able to sustain better effort, and our ability to play our roles has been really evident in the past two weeks.

“Players take a lot of responsibility and ownership for that, so it’s a credit to them to be able to adjust in that area of the game. There is good spirit amongst the group and that’s been the most significant thing.

“We’re training with purpose and there seems to be a lot more urgency around everything we do – whether it’s meetings or craft sessions, so that’s been another significant change over the past few weeks.”