MELBOURNE defender Clint Bartram says he has renewed his love of footy during a gruelling pre-season.
 
And he has been brutally honest with himself when assessing his approach to the game last season.

"(I) probably went through patches where I was not hungry enough and, for me, that is more disappointing to say than anything," Bartram said.
 
The 23-year-old played 15 games in 2011, taking his career tally to 96. As a person who has prided himself on his approach he admits he can't put a finger on the reason why his hunger diminished. He had niggling injuries and form issues but he does not look to blame anyone or seek excuses.
 
What he does know is the changes at the club over summer gave him a rare chance to quickly put that lapse behind him.

"To get a fresh start…you don't too often get that, so I'm pretty grateful," he said.
 
Two weeks ago Bartram found himself being told by new coach Mark Neeld that he had been elevated to the club's leadership group.

"I was pretty surprised," Bartram said. "I did not see that coming but I was pretty humbled."
 
Bartram caught a glimpse of Neeld in action before he arrived at Melbourne. Both played football on a patch of dirt at Ocean Grove.  Bartram was a junior when Neeld was coaching the coastal town's senior team.

"He'd come down to talk to the under-16s at one stage and he seemed like a pretty intimidating fella, so you steered clear of him," Bartram said, his grin widening as he finishes the sentence.
 
But you sense from Bartram there were few grins from the new coach in the first week of training at Melbourne. Neeld arrived and immediately laid out the standards he expected from AFL players. Bartram is not sure exactly what Neeld thought but suspects the coach was a little disappointed with what he observed in that first week. 

"I think he was a bit surprised as to where we were actually at in terms of our fitness, probably not in a good way either. So for us to hear that coming from the senior coach it's always a bit of a shake up.”
 
Bartram says the players support Neeld's approach and recognise that its only intent is to make the team, and each player within it, perform as well as possible.

"His standards are pretty high. He's a ruthless guy, which I think for our group is exactly what we need.

"We're not an overly experienced group but we are very eager to learn and try new things."
 
Bartram has no problem with lifting the standards. He says if you can't accept all forms of feedback these days as an AFL player than you are probably in the wrong business. But that does not mean the pre-season has been all push, push, push.

Bartram recognises that each individual responds differently and striving to be better means helping a teammate to improve whenever and however the possibility arises. He sees leadership as being multi-dimensional.

"For me it’s more of a care thing for the other players and probably a work ethic.

"They are the two things I try to work on, whether it is bringing new guys in and bringing them up to speed on little things or if they can pick up a few things on the way I go about it and train and do my preparation then that puts you on the way to being a good leader."
 
Bartram sees himself leading from the back this year, having spent much of the pre-season in the defensive group. He says the run-with roles he played at the end of last season add another skill to his repertoire, but he enjoys playing in defence.

He remains on track to play in the NAB Cup despite post-season knee surgery.
 
And while the motivation and enthusiasm is back, Bartram knows games will be the only measure of how much improvement has occurred.
 
For now the most pleasing aspect is that Bartram is excited about what lies ahead. "Everything is fresh," he said.
 
Peter Ryan covers Melbourne news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_petryan

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