New Melbourne prop George Rose has shed eight kilograms and gained a fan in Storm coach Craig Bellamy.

The former Sea Eagle, who signed a one-year deal with Melbourne, has reaped the rewards of a gruelling pre-season and is primed for his first hit-out against Canberra in the NRL trial at AAMI Park on Saturday night.

Coach Craig Bellamy said that the 30-year-old, now down to 116kg, deserved praise for his perseverance.

“As we know, George is not going to be the best trainer – he carries a bit of weight, but we have got eight kilos off him since he came to the club,” Bellamy said.

“The big thing about George is that he never gives up on anything.

“Throughout the whole pre-season it’s been really tough for him and at times he’s probably been behind a few other blokes a fair bit but he just keeps going.”

Bellamy said Rose would only be used in short stints during the season and he expected his league smarts to shine through.

“The more matches he gets the better he’s going to be for us,” Bellamy told SEN.

“We’re looking to use his strengths, he’s got some great talent with the footy in hand and hopefully he can work really hard for us in defence.”

Kangaroos Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater will miss the trial, recovering from off-season operations, while skipper Cam Smith isn’t back into action after the World Cup.

There are eight new first-grade squad members set to take the field in addition to a crop of the club’s U20 players.

New Canberra coach Ricky Stuart downplayed the trial, in what will be his first game in charge since leaving wooden spooners Parramatta late last year.

“Craig won’t play his top team, I’m not playing my top team. Just take it for what a trial is,” Stuart said.

He said the scoreboard at the end of the match wouldn’t concern him.

“I’ve been around too long now with trials to see that it’s not an evident factor regards to where you’re going to end up that year.

“Trials are for conditioning and a little bit of time for players.”