Star Bomber Orazio Fantasia says realigning his priorities throughout the pre-season will allow him to hit the ground running in 2020.

Having battled with a number of frustrating injuries across the last two seasons, a more patient and focused approach has seen the athletic forward enter the season with newfound energy.

Fantasia said he is itching to get back on the field against Fremantle at Marvel Stadium on Saturday after a such a physically and mentally challenging period.

“I’m excited, it’s been a bit of a long build-up just getting the body right,” Fantasia said on club podcast DON AIR.

“Sometimes when you’re coming back from an injury that hampers you for a little while, it is frustrating and you get those mental demons thinking, ‘can I still do it to the same level?’. You’re sort of in a rush.

“Last year was the struggle, you’re in that mental grind where you’re playing, but you’re not really playing – you’re not contributing how you want to.”

Now with a better understanding of how to get the best out of himself, Fantasia is confident he can get back to his damaging best.

The 24-year-old decided not to feature in Essendon’s leadership group this year, but he said having an admittedly more “selfish” focus will ultimately allow him to have a more positive impact on the squad.

“I definitely do want to be more durable this year. If I can play more footy that is going to help the team the best way.

“That’s … why I did a few things this year in terms of stepping away from the leadership group – I needed to focus on the body.

“Over the previous two years it was lots about everything else and putting my body second and trying to rush back to play and things like that, because I felt like that would help the team more.

“This way, and in a selfish way, it was more about fixing the body but then hopefully playing and training more, which would then help the team.”

Fantasia is hopeful both a better body and some fresh additions to the side’s game style will benefit his performance this year.

He said he enjoys pushing up the ground when he can and piling pressure on his opponents alongside fellow forward Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, something the pair will be more responsible for than ever in 2020.

“I don’t mind sliding up there (to the midfield), I like a bit of (time on) the wing and around the footy and being able to use the legs – I’ve got some quick feet, me and ‘Walla’ (McDonald-Tipungwuti).

“We’re very safe behind the ball, it gives us some good depth and allows us to put pressure on, which is what we like. It allows myself, ‘Walla’ and these guys to chase down, press and go to work to keep the ball in our half.

“That’s how they want to defend and we’ve got some different modes of attack; we can play how we want, instinctively, which is nice.”

The Bombers’ first test of the season against the Dockers is set to start at 1:45pm on Saturday, with the team revealed on Thursday evening.