THIS time last year, Jordan Gysberts was hot property.

After barely putting a foot wrong in the first two games of his career, Gysberts earned an AFL NAB Rising Star nomination and looked to be one of the most poised young midfielders in the AFL.

But he only played one more senior game for the year before returning to the VFL. A back injury in his first game back for Casey brought a premature end to his first season on Melbourne's list.

He says he was particularly annoyed at the timing of his injury.

"I had two bulging discs in my back that kept me out for four or five months. It was really frustrating, I had just got a taste of the AFL, then I got injured and missed the rest of the season," Gysberts told melbournefc.com.au.

Gysberts's back problem is a distant memory as he has consolidated himself in Melbourne's team.

So impressive has his performance been that he earned himself a second Rising Star nomination, exactly 12 months after his first, after his 30-possession performance in Friday night's win over Essendon.

Gysberts becomes the eighth player to be nominated for the award in consecutive seasons, following in the footsteps of Duncan Kellaway, Craig Callaghan, Michael Braun, Luke Power, Nathan Jones, Mark LeCras and Michael Hurley.

But he is far from Melbourne's only bright young prospect. Teammates Tom Scully, Jordie McKenzie and Jack Trengove all featured among the best.

He said he takes as much pride in the performance of his peers as he does in his own effforts.

"It's been really good. The young guys have come in and had a real impact on the games. We're missing 10 of our best 22 and to see our young guys come in and do what they've done is really exciting," he said.

"It's good to see where we're heading. Myself and Jordie McKenzie were pretty close together in and around the stoppages. It was also good for him."

Gysberts was close to several of his former teammates before he was even drafted by the Demons.

He played local football with Norwood in Melbourne's east alongside Sam Blease, who was also a classmate of Gysberts at Yarra Valley Grammar School.

Gysberts also played representative basketball alongside Jack Watts, who he said has taken his football to a new level this year.

"I played with and against Jack growing up. 'Wattsy' was a gun. He made the Australian team," he said.

"It's been good with 'Wattsy'. He's looked a lot more comfortable out there. His confidence is high at the moment, he is playing good footy and hopefully we can keep seeing him develop as the year goes on."
 
Much has been made of Gysberts' arrival at Melbourne which only came after Carlton traded its first-round draft choice to the Demons for midfielder Brock McLean.

The Demons used that pick on Gysberts, who also inherited McLean's no. 5 guernsey.

But he said he never felt any expectation to play to McLean's standards.

"Not really. It didn't really faze me, there wasn't much internal pressure on me. He left on his terms, so that made it easier. It's not like he was forced out."