Ball movement coach Mark Williams speaks exclusively to melbournefc.com.au in the seventh of a nine-part series about how the Melbourne players are tracking this pre-season

Tom McNamara (rookie)

It’s great that we’ve been able to give Tommy another opportunity. He really started to string some games together last year with Casey, after an injury-riddled period. We know he’s now putting himself in a position to be able to grasp another opportunity, and that’s all we’re asking from him. We need him to continue training well and maintain his body, so he can show his best footy.

Brent Moloney
Beamer always prepares well. He’s one of the blokes we love to coach. His leadership is outstanding, and he’ll have a really big role this year in the leadership group. The way he plays is like a leader as well - his actions are fantastic. We want Beamer to keep driving himself and others around him, so we can get better as a team.

Cale Morton
We’re really hoping this year will be a breakout year for Cale. He’s played some fantastic footy in his first three seasons, and he’s now starting to put some weight on. It’s been hard for him, but it’s been a real step forward. He’s accepted that we need him to be bigger and stronger, because he can play several roles for the team. He just needs to maintain and increase his workrate.

Michael Newton (second-year rookie)
Juice is an enormously talented player - that’s why he has been maintained on our list. We think he really improved last year with his football smarts and his aggression. His chasing and tackling was also a feature. We just need Juice to step up again this year. He needs to be more confident, because he can play a variety of roles for us next year - backline, midfield and forward.

Daniel Nicholson (rookie)
Daniel has really excited us. He was training with us as a train-on, before we drafted him with our first pick in the rookie draft. Daniel is a good decision-maker and kick. We think he’s got a bit of x-factor, and we hope he can develop into a running back-flanker or winger. He can really run the lines, and we think he can help us advance the ball from back to forward.