Livewire Melbourne forward Kysaiah Pickett has impressed teammates with his performance on the training track early in pre-season, amongst a host of new recruits gelling seamlessly with the Demons squad.
Pickett has just completed his fifth year in the AFL system, with Melbourne's 14th-placed finish the worst the club has had since Pickett's draft year in 2019.
The flashy speedster was rumoured to seek a trade home to Western Australia in October however it did not eventuate, with Pickett's pre-season impressions suggest the rumours may well stay that way.
With a renewed hunger to return to the top end of the table, Pickett's teammate Daniel Turner believes the 23-year-old has returned in better form than any other teammate.
"Kozzy's just taken it to a new level this year," Turner said.
"Even out there today, it's just amazing to see what he can do."
The crop of new draftees have also caught the eye of Turner, as they enter their first pre-season in the AFL.
Melbourne's top 10 selection Harvey Langford has shown his skills early, linking up with Turner in the forward line drills, but has also demonstrated his explosive ability to be a midfielder.
Mature-aged recruit Aidan Johnson has also shown "real intent" to begin his time in red and blue, whilst Melbourne's second selection in the draft Xavier Lindsay has connected well with the team despite spending his time apart from the main playing group as he rehabs a PCL injury.
"One that stands out from the few new ones is Harvey (Langford)," Turner said.
"He's been elite, he's hit the ground running.
"Aidan Johnson's come in with real intent and he's gonna be great for us up forward.
"And then we've got Xavier (Lindsay) who's working through his little injury at the moment, but he's gotten around the boys. They all fit in very well."
Now entering his fourth season, Turner will begin pre-season as a forward for the first time in his career. After playing just three games prior to 2024, Turner's "sudden" switch to the forward line presented the 22-year-old with a spot in the Demons' best 22, playing 15 games last season and kicking 17 goals.
Turner said learning forward nuances this pre-season will assist his development as a key target inside 50.
"(The move to forward) was definitely exciting, because it was sort of just a sudden move last year. When it happened it was exciting, it felt fresh, I felt like there wasn't much expectation so I could go out there freely," Turner said on the initial change in position.
"Having a pre-season under the belt where I can sort of get a bit more forward knowledge and a little bit more of nuance about me, I think that will be very good.
"Hopefully I can build off what happened last year, but it's exciting. I really enjoy it down there as well, we've got such a good group, we're young as well from a key forward point of view.
"It's exciting to see what we'll do."
Holding high hopes for 2025, expect Turner to be pressing for a forward line selection in Round 1 alongside Pickett. Melbourne's Round 1 clash takes place at the MCG against GWS on Sunday, March 16.