Melbourne's Lynden Dunn admits he is "frustrated" at plying his trade in the VFL but says the lure of an elusive maiden finals campaign has him motivated for the future.
The 29-year-old has long been a mainstay in the Melbourne backline but a combination of injury, poor form and the club's emerging key defenders means Dunn has only played four senior games in 2016.
The last of them was against St Kilda in Round 6, when Melbourne copped a 39-point reality check as Nick Riewoldt and Tim Membrey ran riot.
Dunn told ESPN he deserved to be demoted after the Saints game, but the 165-game veteran said he knew what he needed to do to break back into the senior side.
"It [my season] has been frustrating - it certainly hasn't gone how I'd planned it," he said.
"Being injured in pre-season, coming into the team to play a handful of games and then being dropped after the St Kilda game - which was fair enough - going back to the VFL and then injuring my hamstring four weeks ago. It's not ideal. Throw in a few [VFL] byes and I've only played two games in the past two months. It's been very frustrating.
"But I just need to force my way back in. I had a meeting with Roosy [coach Paul Roos] last week, [and I] have to build a consistent block of benchmark performances.
"We've got some really good young key defenders in the seniors at the moment - Tom McDonald has been holding the fort, with [McDonald's younger brother] Oscar and Sam Frost, who have been developing really well, so it's hard not to play them if they're doing a good job, and I love seeing them play well."
After making his name as a rugged man-on-man defender, Dunn said he had also struggled to adapt to the Demons' new zone defence.
"It certainly is a lot different; I think the media has put their own spin on our zone defence, but it's definitely different than we have had in the past," he said.
"Having played a certain way your whole career, it's difficult at times getting your head around it and the way the game is heading, but that's just modern footy. But I feel I've made some real inroads this year with the game style, and I've dropped a few kilos, I'm moving better, but I just have to string some quality games together and force my way back in."
Dunn arrived at Melbourne as the 15th pick in the 2004 national draft. Since then the Demons have endured a decade of turmoil, tragedy and shocking on-field results.
Dunn steps into women's footy role
But the club finally appears to be on the right track this season, playing an attacking brand of football and unearthing several talented youngsters to sit 10th on the ladder with a 7-8 record.
Dunn, whose contract runs until the end of 2017, said he was determined to play on at the Demons and was motivated by the thought of finally breaking his AFL finals duck.
"[I am] contracted for next year and I plan to fulfil that at the Dees," he said.
"I think I have my best footy ahead of me - I've got no doubt I've got a new contract left in me and I feel like I've got plenty to offer at AFL level.
"It's my 12th season at the Dees and we've hit rock bottom more than once, [but] seeing the group now, not just the players but the footy department, the whole club itself and our supporters, it's so exciting.
"Finals is basically why I play footy; I want to play finals at Melbourne - we haven't played finals since 2006 and I've never played in an AFL final so that's a huge motivation for me. We're playing some really good footy at times this year but we need to string together consistent quality performances and learn to string wins together."