TO PLAYAFL football was all Nathan Jones everwanted to do growing up in Mount Eliza,but having achieved that goal, he wants more.

Taken 12th overall by the Demons at the2005 NAB AFL National Draft, the talented 19-year-old from the MorningtonPeninsula is determined to become an elite midfielder and has already showntantalising glimpses of what he’s capable of in his first 21 games.

But as much as he wants it, he knows hecan’t have it all just yet.

“I’ve been speaking to Paul Williams [Melbourneassistant coach] a fair bit and he’s just been saying ‘be patient’ so that’s whatI’ve been trying to do,” Jones said.

“I’ve just been working away at the littlethings and hopefully the stuff I want to come will eventually come.

“If I become impatient I can try too hardand it doesn’t happen, whereas if I can relax and focus on the things that aregoing to keep me in the side, then eventually the other stuff will come.

"Stuff like me getting the ball asmany times as I want to get it, doing the things I want to do, and showing thethings I want to show.

“I think I got a fair wake-up call when weplayed West Coast. Playing against [Daniel] Kerr and [Chris] Judd just showedme the level that I want to get to and I’ve just got to be patient to getthere.

"I’ve got to keep training and keeppracticing to be that good.”

Jones is making a name for himself as aferocious tackler and says the physical aspect of the game is an important partof getting himself up for the contest.

Using the 23-point win over Carlton as an example,Jones laid 10 tackles and was a dominant player through the middle where hegained 20 possessions.

“It’s about finding a trigger, and for me toplay well, crashing in and putting my body in there is what gets me going,” hesaid.

“The weekend that’s just gone I made a bigfocus on going out and laying four or five more tackles and then hopefully theother stuff will come.

“I played one of my better games so far, sothat tackling trigger worked for me on the weekend and I think it’s what willwork for me in most games.”

Jones was wary of suffering the ‘second-year blues’ that some players struggle with after a good first season andworked hard to get himself into the right shape over summer.

Unlike most players new to the AFL system,he was told to lose some muscle mass before his second season to allow him tospend more time on the ball.

Jones says he lost “about five kilos”which, coupled with his background in triathlon, has allowed him to cover up to17 kilometres a game this season.

“In my first year I came in and it was alla big eye opener.

”We were going so well and I played a bitof finals footy and I got to play my bit in the team whereas this year, with usnot going so well, I’ve played a lot more time in the middle.

"In that regard it’s helped me a lotin terms of developing my footy quicker.,” he said.

"That was a big focus for me, not tofall into that second-year trap, and I don’t think I have, but I’m still tryingto get that consistency into my game."

The September experience he mentions – anelimination final win over the Saints and a semi-final loss to Fremantle - wasinvaluable for someone of his age, but he admits it was a lot to take in at thetime.

“The two finals were such a contrastingcouple of days,” Jones said.

“The first one we played at the MCG infront of 90,000 people and won an awesome game and then we go over to Fremantle,which is a totally different environment.. Everything was different; the support,the ground, everything.

“I’d never been over there before and justto play in front of that kind of crowd… it was just so hostile, and losing aswell, it gave me the high and low end of the spectrum.”

Jones credits Neale Daniher for helpingtake his game to the next level and showing him there was more to the game thanjust chasing kicks.

“He’s definitely left an imprint on me ofbeing hard and making sure I bring my strengths to the game.

"Without a doubt, with him being thefirst coach to give me an opportunity in the AFL, he’s definitely left a hugeimprint on my career,” he said.

“He always said to me that I need to learnhow to play on someone and understand that sometimes I’ve got to play on abloke.

"That whole defensive aspect of thegame wasn’t a strength when I first started playing.

"That was the main thing from him, wasto play on someone and then work off them. 

"I think I’ve improved that defensivepressure and hopefully the other side of it like getting the footy and kickinggoals will come.”

He’s still a pup in relative terms, butJones has a bright future ahead of him and is eager to take on moreresponsibility on and off the field.

He was a leader throughout his juniorfootball days and is keen to expand his role in that area at AFL level.

“I see that as one of my major strengths,especially when I was younger,” he said. 

“Coming here it’s taken me a little while to bring that out, but I said to theleadership group earlier in the year that I want to try and become more of aleader around the place

“I know it’s only my second year but Ithink I can have a positive impact on the side; I would definitely like to be apart of the leadership group in the future.”