MELBOURNE coach Paul Roos has urged Demons fans to be patient with Jimmy Toumpas and is expecting to see the "rewards" of the midfielder's strong pre-season in 2015.
Toumpas was selected by Melbourne with pick No.4 in the 2012 NAB AFL Draft, but has failed to solidify his position in Melbourne's side following injury and inconsistent performances.
The 21-year-old has managed just 18 games in two seasons on the Demons' list, while he has seen the three players taken immediately after him in the draft – Jake Stringer (pick No.5), Jackson Macrae (No.6) and Ollie Wines (pick No.7) – notch 28, 34 and 49 games respectively.
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Roos, who has long been an advocate of lowering the draft age, said Toumpas found himself in an unfortunate position, considering the demand on young players to come in and perform from the outset.
"What tends to happen is everyone who gets drafted early goes, 'Well, hang on that kid's playing at the Giants or that kid's playing at the Suns,'" Roos told AFL.com.au.
"What they don't realise is, in the formative years (of those franchises), is that those kids have to play because they have to field a team, even though they're not really ready to play AFL football.
"And then guys like Jimmy, and the people who go before them tend to go, 'Why aren't I playing?'.
Toumpas, who is in the final year of his contract with Melbourne (having signed an extension before he played a senior game), has been a standout performer on the track this pre-season.
He's running as well as he ever has and has been trialed in some different positions, including off the half-back flank, as the Demons look to further enhance his development.
He has shaken off the effects of acute appendicitis, which was a limiting factor in the second half of 2014, and the hip surgery he had prior to arriving at the Demons has not given him any further troubles.
Roos said his expectations for Toumpas were clear.
"What we're trying to establish at the footy club is for players to just listen, learn and improve every single day," Roos said.
"You can't get too outcome focused. If you do that, you're going to get into trouble.
"You've got to keep getting better and that's what Jimmy's really knuckled down to do this pre-season, and I think we'll see the rewards from it."
