HARD-at-it Demon Luke Tapscott says he’s appreciated his position in the Melbourne side much more this time around, given he’s had to work hard to earn a place in the 22.
Tapscott, who played his second match for the season, in Melbourne’s dramatic three-point loss to Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval last Sunday, said it meant a lot to him to win his way back into the red and blue line-up.
“This time, it was harder to get back into the team,” he told melbournefc.com.au.
“I really value my spot in the team and I’m not going to give it up easily – put it that way.
“The Geelong game was pretty frustrating and pretty disappointing for all – and also for my first game to come back in – it wasn’t good to put in a performance like that, so it wasn’t ideal.”
Tapscott’s 2014 has been a frustrating one.
A knee injury sidelined him from Melbourne’s second NAB Challenge in Alice Springs, before he missed three pre-season hit outs.
He returned via a VFL practice match in the round one equivalent, but was then sidelined until round five with a hamstring injury.
From rounds six to 16, Tapscott either plied his trade in the VFL or was on the cusp of selection.
He was named an emergency in rounds 15 and 16 and then called up for the clash against Geelong at the MCG in round 17.
Although his first match was quiet, his effort against the Power was immediate.
A typical bone-crunching bump from Tapscott, soon followed up by a thumping goal from outside 50 was just the tonic he needed to kick-start his important game.
“I was still on a bit of a high after kicking that goal,” he said with a laugh.
“As a team, we didn’t play the way we wanted to against Geelong. I battled reasonably hard in the forward line to stay involved for the whole four quarters, but on the weekend, we played well and I took some early opportunities.
“I took them and made the most of them, which was good. Being able to go back for a bit, as that seventh defender, was good. I really enjoyed the time back there and it was great fun.”
Tapscott, whose versatility is a feature of his game, said he wasn’t perturbed where he played and he quite liked the mixture of roles.
“It doesn’t frustrate me at all, playing the role that I did on the weekend,” he said.
“It keeps you in the game the whole time, playing that role at that particular time.
“I’ve played at both ends of the ground now, so I feel like I’m adaptable playing that role.”
Tapscott said coach Paul Roos’ philosophy of players earning their stripes in the VFL before being elevated to the AFL had made it “pretty rewarding”.
“Roosy always talks about putting consistent games together in the twos to get yourself in contention,” he said.
“It’s a little bit different to the last couple of years, where you put one or two [good games] together and you’re in contention, so that’s the biggest difference.”
“It’s something I really had to work for – I had to put together five or six consistent games and I was rewarded with a game. It took a bit longer than I would’ve liked, but I’m back in the team and it’s going well.”
As for the bye weekend, Tapscott said he’ll head back to his native state to catch-up with family.
“I’ll head back to Orroroo for the weekend. I haven’t been back since Christmas, so it’ll be good to see the family and it’ll be good to spend a few days with them, so it’ll be great,” he said.
