DEAN Kent says he was nervous, but excited for the opportunity to return to the Melbourne team, after form and injury kept him to six appearances last year.

Kent hadn’t played an AFL match since round 17 last year, when he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury against the Adelaide Crows in Darwin.

But he returned to play his 59^th AFL game on Saturday at the MCG, booting three goals to be among Melbourne’s best in its 37-point win over North Melbourne.

He said when he found out he was back in the side, he was moved by the moment.

“When Goody (Simon Goodwin) called me on Wednesday night, I got some butterflies and played the game in my head a little bit. But I went back and stuck to what I know – chasing. If I did that, I was pretty sure I’d get on the backend of some [goals],” he told Melbourne Media.

“Goody said to me pretty early, when it came to round one and selection time that he just wants me out on the park. I play my best footy when I’m harassing in the forward line, chasing and tackling, so to come in and play my role was good.

“I got on the back-end of a few goals, but the way our forward line is competing and doing the team first acts, it’s really good to be a part of.

“Coming in, with a lot of external noise, with the hoodoo, but we love coming out in these conditions and with the team we’ve got now, and the list we’ve got now, we can beat anyone on our day.”

Kent combined beautifully with fellow ‘Melbourne mosquito fleet’ players Tom Bugg (four) and Jeff Garlett (three) to land 10 of the 18 goals kicked against the Roos. 

“We can almost call [ourselves] that now,” he said with a smile.

“There were a couple of smalls down there and Nibbler (Alex Neal-Bullen) as well, so we’ve come in with a small team this week, so we just wanted to compete early and once the [ball] was on the ground, us smaller guys can really hunt the pack, and tackle and harass.”

Interestingly, Kent has now kicked 11 goals against the Roos – his best against an opposition side. He booted a career-best four against North Melbourne in Hobart, back in round three, 2016, while he also kicked three against the Roos in round 23, 2014 at Etihad Stadium.

But Kent played down his good form against the blue and white.

“Last time I played against them, there were a few goals kicked, but in the end, it doesn’t matter who we play, I’m just happy to be out on the MCG, where the home of footy is,” he said.

“Putting this jumper on is very special for me, so I can’t wait for next week and the year to come.”