JOEL Macdonald is promising to be far more than just a handy backman with Melbourne already tapping into his experience with the Brisbane Lions.

Assistant coach Mark Williams said the 25-year-old was fitting in very well and had set an impressive standard for a lot of his new teammates in recent weeks.

Delisted after 80 games in six years with the Lions, Macdonald trained with the Demons for a fortnight ahead of his selection in the NAB AFL Pre-Season Draft on December 15.

"He's a very diligent trainer," Williams said. "The blokes really like him ... mainly through his work rate and his actions.

"He's been very focused, has done everything right and has prepared himself really well. In the way he trains, you can see his experience, the games he's played and the way he thinks about the footy.

"He's been working really hard in the gym and he's really been trying to make sure that his actions build respect from the other players."

Even though Macdonald has resumed training with Melbourne's defenders, Williams saw he could appear further up the ground when playing on certain opponents - particularly half-forwards pushing up to a wing.

In the short-term, he will have a role in midfield meetings as part of the Demons' education of their younger players and will continue to share ideas with his coaches.

"The great thing about Joel is he's an experienced player with great skills and is really flexible in who he can play on," Williams said.

"The other thing that people don't [always] understand is of great value is the experience of another club.

"[With] the way he looks at what we do and the feedback he can give us coaches in regards to the way we do it -and the way Brisbane have done it, it's a really good sounding board."