DEFENDER Colin Garland says a strong focus on his mental preparation helped him have his best AFL season in 2013.

Garland, who finished runner up to Nathan Jones in this year’s Keith ‘Bluey’ Truscott Memorial Trophy, said backline coach Jade Rawlings had played a big part in his season.

“Personally, I started [well in the] pre-season. It wasn’t a physical thing [I needed to work on], it was my mental skills with the game,” he told melbournefc.com.au.

“I’d done a lot of work with my line coach, Jade Rawlings, with my mental preparation leading up to games and training sessions.”

Along with the Sid Anderson Memorial Trophy for second place in this year’s best and fairest, Garland also received the leadership award - the Ron Barassi Jnr Trophy.

It was a fine reward for Garland, who stepped up as vice captain when Nathan Jones was elevated to the co-captaincy in the absence of the injured Jack Grimes.

Although the 25 year-old was pleased with his individual season, he said the fact that he had endured seven tough seasons since making his AFL debut in 2007 meant team success was all that mattered now. 

“Because I’ve been at the club for seven years, it’s still been quite a tough year, even though I’ve been performing well,” he said.

“You lose your own performance amidst the team when you’ve played 100 games, [which is] similar to Nathan Jones, who plays consistent football every week, but it gets lost in the overall team performance.

“When I sit back, I’m very happy with how I performed this year and I’ve been able to control my own performance, so I’m happy in that sense, but the overriding theme is one of real disappointment for the year.”