SOME Melbourne fans may have been wondering in recent weeks who that exciting youngster in the number 14 jumper is.

‘Is that really Lynden Dunn?’ they might be asking themselves?

Instead of running away from the Demon goals and presenting on a lead to teammates further afield – as many at Melbourne had expected of the 20-year-old in 2007 – Dunn’s career has taken a different path.

Despite standing 192cm and tipping the scales at over 90kgs – key position-type proportions – the third-year Demon has made the transition into the midfield and has done so with aplomb.

Dunn, who many at Melbourne thought could and still may develop into a future star forward with the club, made his senior debut against Geelong in 2006 and booted two goals in an impressive maiden performance.

But the year hasn’t been spent playing bit parts in attack alongside the likes of skipper David Neitz and Russell Robertson as Dunn might have thought.

“I started up forward earlier in the year and then, I think it was against Port Adelaide, I wasn’t going too good and they threw me on the wing and told me to run with [Chad] Cornes,” Dunn said.

“It was a bit different for me, but I enjoyed it, and I’ve sort of played on the wing a little bit from there.

“From there I’ve sort of had a couple of run-with roles on other players and have played a bit in the middle, so it’s been good.”

The former Calder Cannon said he had played in the ruck in the under-12s before enjoying stints at both ends of the ground throughout the remainder of his junior days.

Despite his height, Dunn believes his “toothpick arms” won’t yet allow him to hold down a key position.

And besides, he is having too much fun through the middle of the ground to think about returning to the bang-crash of key forward or defensive posts.

“Hopefully I can stay in the midfield and push up the ground a bit,” he said.

“Everyone likes kicking a goal but I don’t think my game revolves around goalkicking, that’s why it’s good to be in the midfield and having different roles in there.”

Dunn’s nous for the goals was evident in his team’s round-19 win over the Bulldogs, when he streamed forward to boot two majors, one of them a beauty after gaining possession in the centre, dishing off and then regaining possession and slotting it home from outside 50m.

He said he had been placed in the ‘forwards’ group since arriving at Melbourne at the end of 2004, although he was looking forward to working more with the club’s coaching staff as well as his midfield teammates as he tries to further develop his game.

“So far I’ve enjoyed the experience and learning the things I have,” he said.

“To get better… Simon Godfrey is probably our best tagger, so I’ll just have a chat to him and get some ideas off him and see how to wear them [opponents] around stoppages.

“I’ve also spoken to [assistant coach] Paul Williams. They’ve said though that they don’t want me to stop going at the footy.”

Dunn managed 11 AFL matches last season as well as playing in Sandringham’s VFL premiership, but is on track to better his 2006 tally this weekend when he will likely play his 12th senior game of the season.