PERCEPTION over reality in football – or any walk of life for that matter – can be fraught with danger.

Take the self-proclaimed “carefree attitude” of dashing defender Dean Terlich, who has quickly made an impression in his first year at the club.

Speak to Terlich and you quickly sense his happy-go-lucky disposition, but don’t for a minute think that he doesn’t care or have a steely determination.

He has already proven that he has persistent and determined qualities. It must be remembered that the 23-year-old originally from Henty in New South Wales was delisted after just one year with the Sydney Swans in 2008.

Terlich kept at it to the point where he won the Jack Oatey Medal for his best-on-ground performance with Norwood in last year’s SANFL Grand Final. From there, he was rewarded with his second opportunity in the AFL.

“Looking back on it, it’s disappointing that people had that perception about me – that I was too carefree and too laid back. I had the same personality [when I was with Sydney], but perhaps I took it too far almost and it came across that I didn’t care what I was doing,” he told melbournefc.com.au.

“With maturity, being 23 [years old] and coming through the system now, I’ve learned to get the right balance and not to be perceived as someone who doesn’t care about his own football club.

“I’m still the same bloke, with the exact same attitude, it’s just that I have the balance right of when to have a laugh, when to have a joke and when to switch on and be serious. I’ve always taken my footy seriously, but the perception changes with maturity and I really haven’t changed that much at all.”

His personality has certainly struck a chord with Mark Neeld, who has encouraged Terlich to play with the type of attitude he did when he was “14 or 15 years old”.

“He’s told all of the boys to release the shackles, so that’s what I’m trying to do. I try not to put any pressure on myself and going into this year, I didn’t know what to expect,” Terlich said.

“Talking to [my backline coach] Twig (Jade Rawlings), he said I was the type of guy, who could move on quickly after making a mistake, but still have enough care about the footballers.

“That’s why I’m playing good football at the moment – even though we’re losing – because if I do muck something up, I’ll move on quickly and have another crack at it.”

Since being drafted at selection No.68 in last year’s NAB AFL Draft, Terlich has played every match for the Demons, except the opening round.

Still, Terlich’s tenacious run and dash out of the backline has been a genuine positive in a tough season for the Demons. He has shown plenty to like about his game, relishing his opportunity at the highest level. It wouldn’t even surprise if he was right up there in the club’s best and fairest voting at this stage of the season.

“It’s going well and I’m still definitely enjoying it and the club, even if the first week was a shock to the system, losing to Essendon by 148 points,” he said.

“Right from the start, Neeldy said ‘keep taking the game on, because things open up when you do that’.”

Terlich said he still kept in touch with some of his former Sydney teammates, who had encouraged him throughout his journey. 

“I definitely have some mates who are up there. Tony Armstrong, who was at the Crows and then was traded to Sydney – I grew up 20 minutes down the road from him. I played junior footy with him and against him and we stayed in contact the whole time, when he was in Adelaide and I was in Sydney. Then when I went to Adelaide I caught up with him a fair bit,” he said.

“I also keep in touch a fair bit with Craig Bird, who I used to live with in Sydney, so it’s good to have those relationships.

“I haven’t heard from any officials, but it doesn’t really bother me what they think – I know that the people that really matter have a good perception of me. That’s all that matters.”

Terlich and another older recruit, Matt Jones, who has also been one of Melbourne’s good news stories this year, have not surprisingly struck a close bond since their arrival.

“Matt’s one of the blokes I get on best with at the club,” Terlich said.

“He’s had that same type of background. We’ve got similar goals this year – we both wanted to crack into the team and cement our spot. We also want to help this club progress into a strong club again.

“We’ve been lumped together, because we’re both mature-age draftees and we bounce off each other a bit. His personality mixes with mine well and we get along well. We help each other.”

Having recently earned strong praise from Neeld publicly, Terlich said he was humbled by his coach’s response.

“You can’t take it any other way than it to be a compliment,” he said.

“You never get into footy for the personal accolades, but it’s good to be noticed for good things, rather than bad things.

“Externally, you get a perception of the club on its weekend performances, but I think we’re going in the right direction. But when you dig deeper, there are a lot more positives than people realise.”

Yet Terlich is one that clearly stands out.