AT JUST 21 years of age, with just 28 games under his belt, Tom Sparrow already has a premiership to his name.

But after having to wait until Round 20 last year to cement himself in Melbourne’s starting line-up, he didn’t have to search too far for motivation in the lead up to 2022.

“This has been my fourth pre-season and I think I was out there for every session,” Sparrow told Melbourne Media.

“My body’s feeling good – I haven’t had any interruptions.

“I attacked my time trial pretty well – I was pretty happy with the result of that.

“I think that set me up to be out there for every session and given myself the best opportunity to play games in 2022.”

Sparrow has spent the majority of his career to date playing at half-forward, and most famously booted a big third-quarter goal in last year’s Grand Final, but his ability to push into the midfield could be a weapon for the Demons this season.

“I’m just happy to be in the mix,” he said.

“I see myself playing my best footy in the midfield, but if the team needs me to play up forward and play a role up there, I’m happy to do that as well.”

Melbourne’s No.32 did a bit of everything in the club’s first practice match of the year on Thursday, with Sparrow looking right at home against the Kangaroos at Casey Fields.

“I felt pretty comfortable,” Sparrow said.

“Obviously it was a pretty strong performance from us.

“It felt good to be back out there for our first hit-out and I think we worked pretty well as a team.

“Obviously there are a few areas that we need to tidy up but all in all I think comfortable would be the word I’d use with how I felt out there.

“I got my head wrapped around everything and it was good fun as well to finally have a hit-out.”

It had been five months since Sparrow’s last game of footy, but his strong performance against North Melbourne stems largely off the back of his September outing last year.

Averaging 15 disposals and booting one goal in each of his side’s finals appearances, the powerful right footer gained a lot of belief in his own ability throughout that period.

“I was pretty nervous to say the least, going into those games, but the result gives you a lot of confidence as a player,” he said.

“I think knowing we can perform on the big stage really gives myself a lot of confidence to be able to play a variety of roles to a high level.”

The former No.27 draft pick understood the significance of Melbourne’s premiership triumph in Perth, but says himself and his teammates still have a lot to achieve.

“Straight after the game it sort of felt like a bit of a relief,” Sparrow said.

“But it’s also driven the group, and myself, to be hungrier.

“The weight was off our shoulders a little bit at the end of last year but now the pressure is back on, and we have to start again, and we’ll try to do it again for all our fans.”