As Essendon strives to develop and uncover more midfield depth in 2012, David Myers' performance last Friday night would not have gone unnoticed.
For most of the second half against the Sydney Swans, Myers started in the centre square. He plucked the ball from hit-outs, extracted it from contests, and used his strength and long kick to effect.
Although it's not a role he has spent much time playing at AFL level, the 22-year-old feels comfortable. ""It's pretty instinctive for me to play there,"" he said.
As well as looking the part, Myers' efforts were backed up by the numbers. Myers played only 58% of game time after being a substitute for most of the first half, but finished with 16 disposals, six inside 50s – the most of any Bomber – and had a disposal efficiency of 88%. His attributes were all on show.
""Over pre-season I've probably been split between the midfield and defence groups, and I'm happy to play where I get put,"" Myers told essendonfc.com.au.
""You need to be able to do that and have that versatility with the way the game's played now. Also just having another year, another pre-season, and feeling that much fitter, you just start to feel a lot more comfortable in yourself out on the field.""
Football's holistic nature – where one component is dependent on the other – means, as Essendon's defence gets stronger, its midfield is the beneficiary.
In the past two seasons, Myers has been forced to play as a key defender, often in the absence of Tayte Pears or Cale Hooker.
It's a role he has managed, and one he might return to at times, but the emergence of Jake Carlisle and a fit Pears, Hooker and Dustin Fletcher leaves Myers able to be used more creatively in 2012.
Now, along with David Zaharakis, Jake Melksham, Travis Colyer and Dyson Heppell, Myers is strengthening an engine room previously shouldered by Jobe Watson and Brent Stanton.
""I played a lot of my footy as a kid through the midfield so I feel very comfortable in there,"" he said.
""Us younger guys have to improve and take it on ourselves because that's where the improvement's going to come from. They're great players those guys, but they need some help around them.""
As for the game itself, Myers was happy with the two-point win over the Swans. After beginning their NAB Cup in Perth on February 19, it had been almost three weeks between games for the Bombers, but Myers said preparations for round one were fine.
""It had been a few weeks so we were all busting for a hit-out, and it was good to step up the intensity,"" he said. ""Sydney always gives you a good gauge of where you're at. We're all on track.""
