MELBOURNE coach Dean Bailey says the club is close to finalising its decision on the No. 1 pick in the NAB AFL Draft.

As the football world speculates on who the Demons will take out of Jack Watts and Nick Naitanui, Bailey would not name names but says the club is close to making its final decision.

“We’re pretty close. The great Barry Prendergast (Melbourne recruiting manager) will still be very nervous probably up to draft day. We’ve spent a fair bit of time and Barry’s recruiting staff around the country have put a lot of time into it because it is an important draft for us,” Bailey said.

“We want to make sure that with the players we draft, we know not only a lot of information about them as players but also a lot of information about them as people and the character and value which is going to be really important for us. We look forward to that day and that announcement.”

Whoever the Dees draft, they will go into 2009 with one of the youngest lists in the League.

But Bailey says he and his players are not overwhelmed by the idea of being inexperienced.

“It’s not daunting, I can guarantee that. You never know what you’ve got until you play them. We unveiled a few kids last year that with another full pre-season under their belt they are going to be better,” he said.

“The games will determine where we’re at. At the moment training is going okay and we’re looking forward to the NAB Cup. With a young group they are going to develop quickly and we’ve got to make sure we give them the chance to do that. They’ve all got great strengths and we’ve got to allow them to play to those strengths and train to those strengths,” he said.

One of Bailey’s more experienced charges, Russell Robertson, is making steady progress from the horrendous achilles injury he sustained against St Kilda in round 10.

While he is not training with the main group, Robertson is ticking every box in his rehabilitation.

“Russell’s a little bit frustrated because he wants to get out there and train. He’s had a lot of time off but he is certainly advanced. He is coming back from a serious injury and we need to manage him well. He’s making some good strides.”