PAUL Wheatley. He may not be Melbourne's biggest name, most fashionable player or even a hit with all of the red and blue faithful, but he ought to be one of the most admired.
Why? Simply because he has fought back from a string of nagging soft tissue injuries and answered his critics with some solid football. Since the middle of last season he has found arguably the best form of his 116-game career.
Last Sunday, Wheatley was impressive again, winning a career-best 30 touches against Geelong at Skilled Stadium.
With the Demons losing the third time in as many matches in 2008, Wheatley was playing down his recent form, despite being "reasonably happy" with it.
"I've still got a fair bit of improvement and work to do and I've got a fair few things I've got to improve on this week, so that's what I'll be trying to do," Wheatley told melbournefc.com.au.
"It's only three rounds in, but [I'm] definitely pleased to be playing and to have one year where I didn't get injured would be great. Iit hasn't happened yet, so I'm not banking on it.
"If you string a few games together, you just find that your form will stay better for longer, but if you miss a few weeks here and there, your form can waver.
"For really good players, sometimes it doesn't matter for them to come straight back in the side, but sometimes when you've got momentum you want to keep it going."
Wheatley is the club's second-best disposal winner behind Brock McLean after three rounds. His main focus remains team matters.
"We definitely improved from the previous couple of weeks, so now it's a matter of putting it together for a full 120 minutes and that's what will win us games," Wheatley said.
"No doubt we've taken a step forward, but we're still not happy with losing and after the game a lot of the boys were disappointed.
"We did have that feeling that we did have a chance of winning - although no one else before the game thought we would've been a chance, aside from our own group."
Wheatley, who turns 27 when Melbourne plays North Melbourne at the MCG on Saturday, is hopeful an injury-free run will prolong his form in coming years.
"At the moment, I still think I've got a few good seasons left in me, but as I get older and we get a lot of younger blokes coming through, it'll depend on form at the time and if I'm continually getting injured.
"I'd like to think I've got a good three or four years left in me, but you just never know - it's a long way away."
The long-kicking wingman/defender is already preparing for life after football, working as a greenkeeper at Royal Melbourne Golf Course on his one day off each week.
"It's great to work on one of the best golf courses in Australia and I've been doing that for a few years now, not just at Royal Melbourne, but a few other courses,” he said.
“It keeps me busy outside of football.
"Hopefully, I can get my apprenticeship out of it and after football, I'll have something to fall back on, but I enjoy it anyway because you're working outside and you've got a bit of freedom."
