A best and fairest winner in 2011 and one of the club's most important players, Zaharakis was bitterly disappointed to be left out of the seven-man leadership group which was voted on by the players.
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The 23-year-old has responded in the best possible way, however, enjoying an uninterrupted pre-season that should see his running power and midfield time increase.
While producing a strong season on-field was his priority, he said he would not shy away from his goal of returning to the leadership group.
"It was quite disappointing … I loved being a leader of the footy club and I want to be part of making it successful," Zaharakis told AFL.com.au.
"I was captain of Vic Metro under-18s and captain of Northern Knights under-18s, so right through junior footy I've always been in that role and it's something I will always strive to do.
"I got a lot of feedback from the playing group, so I'll work on that sort of thing.
"I'm not going to be one of those players who say, 'I want to focus on my footy and not be in the leadership group'."
Zaharakis and key forward Michael Hurley were omitted from the Bombers' leadership group for 2014, with David Myers elevated to join captain Jobe Watson, Brent Stanton, Heath Hocking, Brendon Goddard, Jason Winderlich and Dyson Heppell.
The upside of Zaharakis' summer, however, has been his clean bill of health.
After suffering osteitis pubis in his first year at the club and patella tendonitis through his next two pre-seasons, Zaharakis was hampered by a quad injury leading into 2013.
Now injury free, he is hoping to play longer periods as a genuine midfielder in 2014.
"The last couple of years where I've played in the midfield I've got a bit tired because I haven't had that fitness base of a full pre-season," he said.
"I've always been more a half-forward swapping on-ball and I've gradually got more time in the midfield and less in the forward line.
"Now I've got the base and foundation to play through matches and pretty much full games in the midfield.
"Hopefully this year I'm a midfielder going forward rather than a forward going midfield. That's what we've worked on [in the] pre-season."
Zaharakis averaged a career-high 22.6 possessions and 3.3 clearances last season, doing his best work in space to average 14.1 uncontested possessions.
He said building his inside game had been a priority this pre-season.
"We've got Jobe Watson, Brendon Goddard, Dyson Heppell and they're the inside mids … I've always been outside first and inside second," he said.
"With the sub rule and less rotations, it's about creating a balance of going inside and outside.
"That way if you're called on to play as an inside mid you can, rather than coming off.
"Hopefully my training has enabled my to do that this season because so far this pre-season that's what we've been training for."
Twitter: @AFL_Nathan
The 23-year-old has responded in the best possible way, however, enjoying an uninterrupted pre-season that should see his running power and midfield time increase.
While producing a strong season on-field was his priority, he said he would not shy away from his goal of returning to the leadership group.
"It was quite disappointing … I loved being a leader of the footy club and I want to be part of making it successful," Zaharakis told AFL.com.au.
"I was captain of Vic Metro under-18s and captain of Northern Knights under-18s, so right through junior footy I've always been in that role and it's something I will always strive to do.
"I got a lot of feedback from the playing group, so I'll work on that sort of thing.
"I'm not going to be one of those players who say, 'I want to focus on my footy and not be in the leadership group'."
Zaharakis and key forward Michael Hurley were omitted from the Bombers' leadership group for 2014, with David Myers elevated to join captain Jobe Watson, Brent Stanton, Heath Hocking, Brendon Goddard, Jason Winderlich and Dyson Heppell.
The upside of Zaharakis' summer, however, has been his clean bill of health.
After suffering osteitis pubis in his first year at the club and patella tendonitis through his next two pre-seasons, Zaharakis was hampered by a quad injury leading into 2013.
Now injury free, he is hoping to play longer periods as a genuine midfielder in 2014.
"The last couple of years where I've played in the midfield I've got a bit tired because I haven't had that fitness base of a full pre-season," he said.
"I've always been more a half-forward swapping on-ball and I've gradually got more time in the midfield and less in the forward line.
"Now I've got the base and foundation to play through matches and pretty much full games in the midfield.
"Hopefully this year I'm a midfielder going forward rather than a forward going midfield. That's what we've worked on [in the] pre-season."
Zaharakis averaged a career-high 22.6 possessions and 3.3 clearances last season, doing his best work in space to average 14.1 uncontested possessions.
He said building his inside game had been a priority this pre-season.
"We've got Jobe Watson, Brendon Goddard, Dyson Heppell and they're the inside mids … I've always been outside first and inside second," he said.
"With the sub rule and less rotations, it's about creating a balance of going inside and outside.
"That way if you're called on to play as an inside mid you can, rather than coming off.
"Hopefully my training has enabled my to do that this season because so far this pre-season that's what we've been training for."
Twitter: @AFL_Nathan
