AFTER two seasons on the outside looking in, prolific Gold Coast midfielder Brayden Fiorini says he's "hungrier than ever" to lock in a spot in Stuart Dew's best team.

And he's found some off-season help to boost his cause.

Fiorini was a midfield mainstay in 2019, playing 21 games before undergoing groin surgery that off-season, and has battled to win a regular place since.

In 2020 he played five games and was dropped three times and it took until an untimely knee injury for Hugh Greenwood last year to get an extended opportunity.

Fiorini played the final eight games as an inside midfielder and averaged 27 disposals.

The 24-year-old told AFL.com.au it took a little while initially to get his head around being out of the 22.

"Early days it was frustrating and I didn't understand the why, but Dewy has been really good and really honest the last two years with me and what I needed to do to get back to my best footy," Fiorini said.

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"I was trying to chip away and get better regardless of where I was playing. 

"That old cliché of controlling what I could control and looking at areas of my game where I could improve and get better."

The one thing Fiorini has always been able to do is find the football.

However, Dew has asked him to be more damaging with it - and to help develop that area, Fiorini has looked outside the club.

"As that inside mid you want to apply as much pressure as you can and be fast and agile in tight and I felt I lost that a bit from that groin surgery in 2019," he said.

"It took me a bit to get that back. That's been a focus the last two years and definitely this off-season, my speed work.

"A few of us boys have got a speed coach who worked with us through the off-season.

"We were on the deck every Wednesday morning, doing sled work, speed work.

"I feel like I've made some gains there over the last year and hopefully I can show that this year."

Gold Coast's midfield is already stocked with Therabody AFL All-Australian Touk Miller, along with young stars Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson, who are likely to be given plenty of time in there in 2022.

With Greenwood (North Melbourne) and Will Brodie (Fremantle) both departing in the off-season, there's a gaping hole for a contested ball winner like Fiorini, who can also play 'outside' to nail down a spot long-term.

It's an opportunity he doesn't want to leave to chance.

"I really want to give Dewy and the rest of the club no reason to not choose me this year," he said.

"I'm probably hungrier than ever now.

"I had a taste of being back in during the second half of the year. I just want to grab the spot that's there with both hands."