Melbourne midfielder Jordie McKenzie is looking forward to 2013. Picture: Chris Eastman Source: Herald Sun
SPRINT, grab a quick breath and go again.
That gut-running was Melbourne midfielder Jordie McKenzie's summer priority.
McKenzie's sweat and toil with Demons elite performance manager David Misson will enable the 22-year-old to stay at an elite opponent's shoulder for the entire game.
While McKenzie reckons he possesses "not a bad tank" to keep pace with midfielders such as Chris Judd, Sam Mitchell, Brendon Goddard and Trent Cotchin, it's their second and third efforts at contests that worried him during a break-out season last year.
"I'm pretty handy with the longer stuff, but an area I've been working on over the pre-season is that repeat effort," McKenzie said.
"Under Dave's program, I've taken some big steps forward in that area. Obviously, I'm not the quickest bloke going around, so I need to keep backing up with the high intensity efforts on the field, otherwise these blokes who I may be playing on again will leave me for dead."
McKenzie's run-with roles on a key playmaker will be critical this season.
"It's not just a negative role. A large part of that is due to the fact those good players do take you to the action," he said.
"So you've got plenty of opportunities to win your own footy and have an impact on the game.
"Their ability to produce multiple efforts and maintain that intensity, that's how they beat a lot of their opponents.
"It's also where and when they run, their timing. They tend to lose their opponent because they know where to go at the right time. That's the challenge, to try and stick with them.
"Mitchell is one who's dangerous, especially around stoppages. He doesn't need much space, he's really smart in where he gets to and he's one of the quickest and cleanest with the footy. So, you have your hands full when you come up against him.
"As far as running goes, Brent Stanton really stood out ."
McKenzie's dedication to the task earned him a third consecutive coach's award and fourth in the club best-and-fairest last year.
And he's itching to go again after a rare uninterrupted summer campaign when he was elected to the leadership group.
"A lot of it is consistency in training. Over past years, due to a few injuries here and there, I haven't been able to string large blocks of training together," McKenzie said.
"This is the first year I've been able to do that and I've gained a lot of benefits in my fitness through just backing up sessions. It's that and doing a few extra drills with David as far as technique (goes)."
Like refining his pressure on the ball-carrier. While he led the club with 116 tackles last year, he conceded the third highest number of free kicks in the AFL.
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