JORDAN Lewis has played 312 games of AFL footy, but he’s still adding to his skillset.

The 33-year-old returned to Melbourne’s senior side on Sunday and was tasked with a new role – tagging Carlton star Marc Murphy.

For much of his established career, Lewis has been the focal point in the centre of the ground, but in the Dees’ five-point win at the MCG, he embraced the negating job and excelled in it.

“I did a little bit of tagging early on in my career to learn the trade, but we’re probably in a position where someone needed to come in and do a role,” Lewis told Melbourne Media.

“I’ve been in the VFL for a little bit now so that was probably my way into the team and Murphy was a dangerous player last week.

“I managed to quell his influence a little bit early on in the game.”

Lewis restricted the former Blues skipper to 24 disposals and enjoyed the opportunity to play at AFL level once again.

“I think predominantly my career has been based around playing in the midfield, so I went to defence not last year but the year before, just to provide a bit of leadership back there,” Lewis said.

“It’s always nice to get back up in the midfield and work with Preussy (Braydon Preuss) again.”

It has been a challenging start to 2019 for Lewis, who was struck down with a hamstring injury prior to Round 1 and hurt his ankle against Gold Coast in Round 8.

In more recent weeks, Lewis has found himself in the VFL, until he finally earned his recall through a strong run of form.

“To be honest I’ve been enjoying my whole year,” he said.

“I try to put things into perspective and going back down to Casey was a chance for me to help the young boys out that are only starting off their careers and I really enjoyed that.”

While it was disappointing for Lewis to miss out on senior selection, his attitude has been exceptional as he continues to lead by example on and off the field.

“Every player wants to be playing AFL, but I wasn’t sad playing back there or unhappy, I really enjoyed that time,” he said.

“I tried to model the behaviours that we expect from the team, whether that be VFL or AFL.”

Lewis has now played 47 games in the red and blue since crossing over from the Hawks at the end of the 2017 season.