A MESSAGE from Carlton to 'be himself' has helped land Tom Bugg at Ikon Park.
Delisted at Melbourne earlier in the year, Bugg had been training with the Blues before he was officially recruited to the club in the NAB AFL Rookie Draft last Friday.
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The controversial forward has endured a lean 18 months, playing just three AFL games after he was suspended for six weeks for his crude hit on Sydney's Callum Mills in June 2017.
However, having earned an opportunity on a third list– having also featured for Greater Western Sydney – Bugg said he would keep playing with a strong physical edge at Carlton.
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"I met with Brendon Bolton and Stephen Silvagni and they really instilled in me that they believe in me," Bugg said.
"They want me to be myself, so I'm excited with the fresh start. There's a lot of energy in the young guys and some strong leadership, which I've seen in the last two weeks."
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Bugg earned a host of criticism from the AFL community after his ban for knocking out Mills last year, but believes he has learned a lot from the unfortunate situation.
"Everyone goes through different adversities and I had to go through that," Bugg said.
"The club had strong support around me at the time, but I'm a really contested and physical player and I'll keep doing that."
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Bugg did not return to Melbourne's team after round four despite a four-goal haul against North Melbourne the week prior.
Despite acknowledging that it was a difficult year, the 25-year-old said he held no hard feelings towards anyone at the Demons and understood the strength of their side.
"It was really hard," Bugg said.
"But it wasn't about me, it was about the team. I tried to play really consistent football and put in some really strong performances to push other guys up.
"As you could see, we had a lot of quality players, so I wasn't the only one struggling to get an opportunity."
