Hunt’s men began training in January in a bid to avoid tiring in the latter stages of the year, bucking a league trend to begin prior to Christmas.

So far, it’s paying dividends.

The Demons increased their stranglehold on fourth place with a thumping of Panmure on Saturday.

They’ve suffered just one defeat in their last eight fixtures and are in line to play finals for the first time in eight seasons.

Hunt, a former Cobden and Heytesbury mentor, believes his side has improved markedly since round one but admitted it was still behind the top three.

“I don’t start like to start before January, because our players are pretty tied up with their jobs. Put it this way, none of them work in an office,” he said.

“I’m keen to make sure football fits into a lifestyle – that it doesn’t take over their own lifestyles. 

“I’ve seen it before when players who start training before Christmas can be smoked by the end of June. They can be (burnt out), not playing their best football and carrying injuries.

“I’ve been reluctant to go too hard, too early.”

Leading into a clash with ladder-leading Kolora-Noorat on Saturday, Hunt said it was vital for his team to bring the “right attitude” to the game.

He urged his forwards to continue their hot form as more players became available towards the back-end of the season.

“We’ve had a good spread of goalkickers this season, we’re just not relying on one,” Hunt said.

“It’s obviously different if you’ve got a Goliath forward like (Ben) Fraser, because he’s going to kick goals regardless of anything. He’s just an all round, talented forward.

“We knew that we had to manufacture a bigger score and in the past, that would have been 12 goals. Now, it’s more like 16.

“We’re changing things up, there’s always different players in different spots.

“Put it this way, they’re never going to get bored with where they’re playing.”