MELBOURNE recruit Dom Tyson hopes the hiccups of the past two seasons are behind him as he prepares to play for the Demons for the first time on Friday night.
The No.3 selection in the 2011 NAB AFL Draft played just 13 games with Greater Western Sydney over two years, with a series of injuries denying him a consistent run at the game.
After showing good form in his debut season, Tyson was underdone entering 2013 following surgery on his posterior cruciate ligament. He then encountered shin problems and was restricted to just three senior games.
In the week before he started training with the Demons – after a whirlwind trade in October that benefited both clubs – he had another setback when he suffered a grade-two hamstring strain that saw him start on a modified program.
But post-Santa it's been all been positive for Tyson as he builds towards the NAB Challenge opener.
"[I'm] feeling really confident," Tyson told AFL.com.au. "I haven't missed a session since the Christmas break. It will be important for me to get a bit of footy in the NAB Challenge and be confident."
Somewhat of a mystery player to Victorian fans, Tyson is in no danger of overselling himself to Demons supporters as he begins his third season of AFL football.
The aim is simple enough: get the body right, play some good football in the NAB Challenge games and go from there.
He knows what he can do and keen watchers have seen his talent in glimpses, particularly in his first season when his knack for winning the ball at stoppages and using it well was on display.
"[There] was a patch there in my first year before I got injured where I was starting to play some good footy and towards the end of my first year I was playing some footy that was at a decent standard," Tyson said.
During rounds six to nine in 2012 he averaged 17.5 disposals against quality opposition before injury struck. He returned to win a NAB Rising Star nomination after gaining 26 disposals against North Melbourne that year.
"Hopefully I can recapture that and improve on that and learn some new tools of the trade this year," Tyson said.
He said it was hard to leave the Giants because he had good friends at the club and can see the talent flourishing in time. But he is, in his words, pretty happy with his decision in the end.
Being back in Melbourne is a bonus. He is enjoying going home to mum's cooking and being around his dad and brothers.
"I can get home from training and relax a bit more and switch off I guess," Tyson said. "That is always helpful."
Such practical benefits are obvious to anyone who moved out of home straight after school.
Also helpful is the guidance of senior teammates Nathan Jones and Daniel Cross, as the expanded and new-look midfield works on becoming a cohesive unit.
Tyson has already played alongside Jack Viney at the Oakleigh Chargers and was most impressed with Jimmy Toumpas' touch and goalkicking in the intra-club last week but he knows much work remains.
"We've had a solid three or four weeks of match simulation but the NAB Challenge will be pretty important to get a bit of unity and for the midfield and ruckmen to jell," Tyson said.
He sees himself as being someone who specialises in winning clearances with good hands and composure in traffic. That makes him a critical cog in a midfield that averaged just 40 inside 50s per game in 2013.
Midfield coaches George Stone and Ben Mathews are keeping things simple, encouraging players to back their instincts and get to know each other's game. Everyone knows the best midfields have depth and work together as a unit.
So Tyson is not about to make any ridiculous predictions at this time of the season about what he might add or what the team he joined in a whirlwind trade last October can produce.
The first step is to get out on the ground and play.
"It's just getting consistency in my body and confidence I can play week in week out," Tyson said.
