Thomas' recovery from post-season ankle surgery kept him from Collingwood's main training group until February, so he knew he had to be realistic about what he could produce when he eventually returned to the field.
Thomas, 25, spoke with AFL.com.au on Friday night after the Magpies' 26-point win over St Kilda about the frustrations of his delayed start to the season.
"It's never great being on the sidelines when the rest of the boys are putting in the hard yards on the track," Thomas said.
"Everyone knows the pre-season is so important these days to how you run out games and so it was bloody frustrating when I couldn't get out on the track – you sort of feel as though you're getting further and further behind the eight ball.
"And obviously once the season starts there's only so much work you can do, you almost run out of time with the VFL and AFL boys getting back into their match week routines.
"So when I came back it was all about trying to manage my own expectations early on in the season, being realistic about what I'm actually capable of doing in terms of running out games."
Thomas' game against the Saints was his fourth for the Magpies this season and undoubtedly his best since he returned in round three against Hawthorn.
Sent to an unfamiliar role at half-back to help cover the loss of Alan Toovey, who suffered a season-ending knee injury against Essendon on Anzac Day, Thomas had a game-high 34 possessions at an 85 per cent efficiency rate.
It had been little more than one month since Thomas played his first match since his ankle surgery, for Collingwood's VFL side against the AIS-Academy squad in a curtain-raiser to the round one Carlton-Richmond clash at the MCG.
Thomas played in the VFL the following week before returning against the Hawks.
Thomas said he had been gradually building his fitness since his return to the field, effectively using each game as his main training session of the week.
He had 19 possessions against the Hawks, 10 as the Pies' substitute against Richmond in round four and 21 against the Bombers on Anzac Day.
Even after his performance against the Saints, Thomas agreed with coach Nathan Buckley's assessment that he was still some way off peak fitness.
"I think I'm certainly working towards it," Thomas said.
"The ankle feels fantastic, it's just that fitness which is there but just not probably to the level that I need it to be. It's slowly getting there.
"With each game I get under my belt I'm recovering better, I've been able to train better and get that fitness base closer to where I want it to get to."
Buckley was full of praise for the way Thomas tackled his pre-season rehabilitation.
"We've got to understand that Daisy's come off very little pre-season. His application to his rehab and recovery's been excellent," Buckley said after the Saints game.
"He's looked after himself very well to be able to come back in pretty good nick."
Thomas enjoyed the chance to play in defence against the Saints, but would have preferred it had happened under different circumstances.
"I enjoyed the opportunity to get back there, but it was obviously under disappointing circumstances because Alan Toovey going down with a knee meant we needed someone to go down and fill that role," Thomas said.
"Playing down back is something that's probably a little bit foreign to me, but in a way it's a little bit easier than playing up forward because you've got the whole ground in front of you so you're running at your goals all the time.
"But I just enjoy being out there with those boys and to get wins in the fashion we did tonight - holding a quality team like St Kilda to 77 points - was fantastic for the footy club.
"The way we went about it all over the ground with that really defensive mindset, which we probably haven't had for a couple of weeks, was fantastic."
It remains to be seen whether Thomas will become a regular fixture in the Pies' backline, with Buckley suggesting it will be a decision he makes on a week-to-week basis depending on opposition match-ups.
But Thomas seems certain to at least pinch-hit in defence based on Buckley's assessment of his game against the Saints.
"He defended very well and he attacked well when we needed him to and that was the best thing about it," Buckley said.
Nick Bowen is a reporter with AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Nick
