STAR midfielder Nathan Jones says it was a “huge honour” to have won his third consecutive Keith ‘Bluey’ Truscott Memorial Trophy this year, but says he feels uncomfortable being the only other Demon aside from the late, great Jim Stynes to have won three best and fairest awards in a row.

Although Allan La Fontaine (1935-36 and 1941-42) and Stynes (1991 and 1995-96-97) won four best and fairest awards each – the most in Melbourne’s history – the 1991 Brownlow Medallist and Jones are the only two players to have won a hat-trick of club champion awards.

Jones said although he was privileged to have achieved Stynes’ three-peat, he didn’t feel comfortable with the accomplishment. 

“Jimmy is such a legend of the club that I almost feel most embarrassed to be in his company – all I tried to do was do my best over the last three, four or five years,” he told Dee TV. 

“It’s been really disappointing from a club and team point of view, but I just want to make sure I’ve left no stone unturned individually and I’ve tried to lead the way as best I can.

“Individual accolades come secondary, when at the moment we’re really struggling, but your primary thought is about the team and how we’re going to get better.”

Along with La Fontaine and Stynes, the co-captain is just one of six players in Melbourne’s history to have won at least three best and fairest awards, along with Jack Mueller (1937, 1939 and 1946), Hassa Mann (1962-63 and 1967) and Laurie Fowler (1975 and 1979-80).

But Jones’ 2014 was arguably his best season yet.

Statistically, he cracked 600-plus disposals for the first time, amassing 610 for the season. He also had career-best numbers in tackles (115), clearances (137), contested possessions (255) and uncontested possessions (355).

Despite his achievements, Jones said he was no longer worried about personal accolades.

“I’ve gone away from that and I’m more worried about where we are as a group,” he said.

“I’ve got a lot of areas personally I’ve got to improve on – both leadership and my performance. But as much as I was reasonably happy that I’d taken a few steps forward individually this year, we’ve got to continue to raise the bar as a club.

“I’m more so looking forward to getting into pre-season after having one year under Roosy.”

Meanwhile, Jones said he totally understood where coach Paul Roos was coming from when he said post-match after Melbourne’s final match of the season against North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium that ‘every player is tradable’.

“I think it’s a fair point. The landscape of AFL footy as we know it has really changed over the last two years and I reckon where we find ourselves down the bottom of the ladder – with not too many wins, we’ve got to make some changes. We’ve got to get the talent up and the right people in and continue to take steps forward,” he said.

“I think Roosy is well within his rights to suggest that and we spoke [within the club] all year about being able to prove your worth on the list this season.

“It was Roosy’s first season and he’s got a good gauge on where we’re at now and where we need to improve and what we need to bolster. I think that’s where he was coming from.”

Jones said he was optimistic about the club’s ambitions in the upcoming trade and free agency period to secure further experienced talent from rival AFL clubs.

“We saw some great moves last year – getting guys like Dom [Tyson], Bernie [Vince] and Crossy (Daniel Cross) in and you saw the help that they’ve given us,” he said.

“We’ve got to do that again and we need to get some real good young talent in and some experienced talent and continue to take steps forward.

“If we don’t do that – we’re not going to find ourselves in [a] better position than we’re in now.”