CHRIS Johnson's talent has never been questioned. But since arriving via the 2003 NAB AFL Draft as a father-son selection – his Dad Alan played 135 matches for Melbourne from 1982-90 and won the club's 1983 and 1989 Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Trophy – Johnson has struggled to cement a position.

Ever since his return to the Melbourne side in round 12, Johnson has blossomed from half-back, growing in confidence every match.

In round 13, he quelled the influence of key Sydney forward Ryan O'Keefe, following up with a career-best 33 disposals in Melbourne's stunning one-point win against the Brisbane Lions. In his past four rounds, Johnson has accumulated 108 touches, at an average of 27 touches per match.

Reflecting on his stint back at Sandringham – after playing for Melbourne in rounds three and four – Johnson said it actually benefitted him.

"To tell you the truth, it was good for me, in my own football development," Johnson told melbournefc.com.au.

"It actually made me work for my spot and my opportunity as well, because I was getting pretty frustrated that I wasn't getting a game and I was talking to the coaches and they could feel my frustrations as well.

"When I got my chance, I took it."

Interestingly, Johnson gained 19 touches against North Melbourne in round four – until that point his second best numbers at AFL level – but was dropped for "missing a couple of kicks".

"I was a little bit disappointed, because one of my strengths is my kicking, so I was a little bit upset," Johnson said.

"There was a little bit of 'here we go again', because just before the [pre-season] games started, I did my left quaddie and especially with the new coach coming in, I wanted to impress and show what I could offer the team.

"At that stage, he [Melbourne coach Dean Bailey] said I was flying and going really well, but that [injury] set me back a little bit, so I came in for those two games early in the year and I thought I was a little bit unlucky to be dropped, but that's the way it goes and I was sent back to Sandy until round 12.

"Until I got back into the side again, I was thinking 'here we go again', with limited opportunities, but everything's turned around."

Johnson "definitely" believes his career went up another cog with his fine performance on Sydney Swans star O'Keefe at Manuka Oval in round 13.

"Against Sydney, I thought I had an okay game against O'Keefe and it was a good game to see where I was at. Sydney is a very good side and O'Keefe is a very good player in the competition, so that gave me confidence after that game," Johnson said.

"That rolled into the Brisbane game and then I found the ball a bit."

Now, the 22-year-old is looking forward to being part of a potentially exciting future at Melbourne, with the emergence of several players of similar age and younger.

"This is my fifth season now and I came to the club with Brock McLean and Col Sylvia, we were drafted together, and a lot of players have gone through since then and I've played 60-odd games for Sandy, so I've played a lot of footy down there," Johnson said.

"We can't be happy with where we're at and we've got to keep improving, developing and helping each other each time, so it's all about getting better."