In episode twenty one of Inside Melbourne, Clint Stanaway and Caty Price are back from their break as Alex Neal-Bullen joins the team. We recap the win over Gold Coast (2:30), discuss an important conversation with Simon Goodwin (9:00), break down Christian Petracca’s unusual celebration (11:00) and talk about the burning feeling of missing finals (14:30). We take your questions from the outer, plus find out who wins the signed jumper this week thanks to our good friends at Zurich (30:00).

ALEX Neal-Bullen says having the backing of coach Simon Goodwin has helped him become an important member of the Melbourne side.

Neal-Bullen has played every match this season and been an impressive part of Melbourne’s set-up, booting 23 goals to date.

Speaking on Inside Melbourne, Neal-Bullen said when Simon Goodwin took over as coach, he gave him the belief to become a key part of the red and blue,

“He said ‘You’ve got a lot to offer and I’m going to back you in, as long as you’re willing to do the work,” he said.

“For a young fella to hear that – I was 19 or 20 [years old] at the time and I was unsure where I sat within the footy club.

“I walked out the next day confident I was part of this footy club going forward. I made sure, in that eight-week break, that I did everything to put myself in [the right] position.”

This Sunday, Neal-Bullen will play his 54^th AFL game – and his 20^th for the year, which is his best in a season.

He is also set to play his 33^rd consecutive game for the Demons.