COLLINGWOOD midfielder James Aish is confident his fledgling football career is now on the right track.

It's not because he played his third consecutive senior game on Saturday, an individual performance in an unexpected win that was by his own admission relatively quiet.

Nor is it because he feels as though he has secured a permanent spot in the line-up that has won its past three games.

The 20-year-old's sense of calm comes from an increased understanding of the mindset he needs to take into games to give himself a chance of playing well in black and white stripes.

Match preview: Adelaide v Collingwood

"[In the] early days, to be honest, I was just putting a lot of pressure on myself to play the exact role they needed, which sounds funny but I was focusing so much on the role that I wasn't actually playing instinctively or just going for the ball," Aish told AFL.com.au.

It's a trap many young players fall into, their creative flair stifled as their mind works overtime to properly deliver the lines coaches have given them. 

"[It was a case of] overthinking the game, thinking so much about where you should be standing and what is coming up rather than playing the game," Aish said.

After round seven, he knew things weren't working as he hoped, so he was not surprised when he was sent back to the VFL.

Aish accepted that he needed to simplify the game in his mind and knew the VFL was the best place for him to do that, without the external focus ever-present when playing AFL.

"I had a month back there and it gave me a chance to relax a little bit and learn the same structures in the VFL environment, and then get a bit of confidence as well," Aish said.

That was a mature approach for a high-profile recruit to take towards a time most external observers would consider difficult.

But it would be wrong to imply it was free of angst.

"You definitely do have times where you question yourself and your ability," Aish said.

"At times it's pretty hard. I knew the move was not going to be easy and I knew I did not have a set place in the 22 from the start. They are just challenges."

Aish is not alone in facing such challenges as he tries to establish himself in the game.

Never was that more obvious than in round 16 when he was one of just four top-10 picks from the 2013 NAB AFL Draft playing at senior level.

On the field opposing Aish was No.2 pick Josh Kelly playing with Greater Western Sydney, while the Western Bulldogs’ Marcus Bontempelli and the Suns' Kade Kolodjashnij played on Saturday too.

Their peers Tom Boyd, Jack Billings, Matt Scharenberg, Luke McDonald, Christian Salem and Nathan Freeman were either playing VFL or sidelined through injury and illness.

Aish laid six tackles against the Giants and kicked a goal, the third successive week he has scored a major.

He knows he wasn't in the best but took heart from the fact the coaches were pleased with the way he has slotted back into the structure.

"Overall I'm starting to get a much better feel for how the team plays," he said.

His words provide a reminder that even after 40 games, Aish remains uncertain whether he is going to be selected each week, but he admits he is getting better at focusing on what he can control.

"I guess it is a little bit stressful at times – you want to play every week – this week I don't know what will happen just yet but you just have to do everything you can and keep improving."

There is no doubt he is improving on the field and, more importantly, finding the outlook necessary to become as good as he wants to become.

"To put it simply, I have loved this season. It's brought challenges personally and for the team…but beyond all that I have enjoyed it," Aish said.

"On the footy side I'm learning a lot and I am developing myself on the field, and then living-wise it's going really well and I am just enjoying being in Melbourne. It has been pretty positive for me."

But don't mistake that for complacency. When asked whether he views this season as a transition year he is loath to label 2016 in that way.

"I am a bit torn. I want to have as much impact as I can as quickly as I can and impact games. I need to keep improving and hopefully that will come."