DON'T cry for Mason Wood and his injury-ravaged AFL career to date.

The best reason not to? The man himself isn't even doing it.

Wood's one of those imagine-what-he-could-be-if-everything-went-right players whose glimpses are terrific – think that match-winning game last season at Sydney's expense – but whose absences overshadow them.

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His AFL dream was realised way back in November 2012, when he went from being a Geelong Falcon to a North Melbourne footballer with the No.41 draft pick.

Fast forward to the present, almost seven years later, and Wood's preparing to play just his 42nd AFL game on Good Friday against great rival Essendon.

Injuries have cruelled the 25-year-old. Calf, knee, concussion, knee, hamstring, knee, calf, hamstring, calf.

Two of those setbacks prematurely ended consecutive seasons in 2016 and 2017, the first of them shortly before he signed a four-year deal to remain at Arden St until 2020.

"That's footy. I could get angry, but how does that help me play good footy?" Wood told AFL.com.au.

"Some blokes might bottle it up and go 'That's what's going to drive me' but if that's what you need to drive you, then you're going to be finding yourself out of the team in order to play good footy.

"I want to play good footy off the back of what we do at training week-to-week and my own internal motivations.

"It is disappointing, but at the same time, you can't get bogged down in it or sidetracked from the big picture."

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However, Wood is the first to admit that injuries are only part of his football journey.

Roos selectors made him wait until round seven last year before he broke back into the senior side, with the expectation that he iron out some of his flaws.

That four-goal performance against the Swans followed, the last of which was kicked on the run – after negotiating multiple defenders – and gave North the lead for good.

On fire: Mason Wood starred with four goals against the Swans last year. Picture: AFL Photos

But after a flat start to 2019, plus a titanic Kangaroos defeat to Fremantle in round one, the athletic and prodigiously talented Wood was back in the VFL.

It was a surprising turn of events, given gun forward Jarrad Waite's post-season retirement and North's need for Wood to flourish alongside Ben Brown.

"We hadn't been playing particularly well … if I had have been setting it alight and you get dropped, you'd be like 'Wow, what's going on?' but I wasn't playing good football," he said.

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"Whether that's a part of us as a forward line not jelling quite right yet, or whether it was just me – it doesn't matter.

"I would have been in the team if I was playing good footy. You go back to the VFL, you get some form and come back in and hopefully from now it's all smooth sailing."

Mason Wood booted three goals in a promising debut for the Roos in 2014. Picture: AFL Photos

Wood claims not to consume much media or to be aware of the hype about him, other than his mates passing on some snippets.

One thing he does know is that he needs to be more consistent, and he wants to forge a quality partnership with Brown in attack.

The signs were good for the pair last week, in Wood's return to AFL ranks, but the key is to replicate that – and better – on a weekly basis.

"I've played some good footy at this level, which gives you that confidence to say you can and you go, 'Well, now I've just got to work out why I haven't done it more consistently'," he said.

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"Whether that's injury or going in and out of games, whatever it is, you just have to find that balance of how to play good football on a consistent basis.

"Some people it takes a year, whereas other people, like in my case, it's up to seven years.

"It all comes down to learnings, though. At the end of the day, it's all stuff I've learned from and I'm the footy player I am today off the back of what I've learned."

After a knee injury in 2016. Picture: AFL Photos

If there's one Roo who can relate to Wood's situation, it's fellow forward Taylor Garner, who was also drafted in 2012 and is equally as talented, yet has managed only 34 matches.

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Even so, Wood says they haven't really discussed their respective football plight.

"It's interesting, because we've both spent seven years at the club and 'Garns' is probably worse than me," Wood said.

"Sometimes you're going to have unlucky stories. Some blokes come out of footy after being high draft picks and don't even get on the park, then get delisted.

"We're both still here and we've both got a point to prove that we can play at this level – and we're going to be doing whatever we can to do that."