MELBOURNE forward Jack Watts has credited a brief spell in the backline as the catalyst for his recent form surge.

Watts, who has been one of the AFL's most closely scrutinised players since he was drafted with the first overall pick at the 2008 NAB AFL Draft, says a brief move into defence has boosted his self-belief.

"I went back for one or two games. I got a couple of kicks and got a bit of confidence from having the ball in my hands. I think that's translated to me playing forward now," Watts said.

The 20-year-old fronted the media for an all-in press conference on Thursday morning for the first time since he was drafted by the Demons three years ago.

The Demons have been refreshingly media-friendly with their young players in recent years. Jack Grimes, Luke Tapscott, Jack Trengove and Tom Scully have all fronted press conferences before they even played a senior game but Watts' appearances have been kept to one-on-one chats until now.

His presence at Thursday's all-in is a significant gesture that he has finally cemented himself as an AFL player, which he himself admits wasn't always the case.

"When people are having shots at you all the time, it weighs on you, but as I've always said, it's going to be there my whole career. I can't do anything about it so I've just got to deal with it the best I can," he said.

"Probably the way to do that is get out there, play good footy and win games. Hopefully that's what we can do."

Watts said the support from all involved at the Demons never wavered despite the constant spotlight on his first few steps as a footballing infant.

"Obviously I didn't have the impact a lot of high draft picks have. Early days, I was 17, and drafted when I was still at school. The guys within the club understood it was going to take me a bit of time," he said.

"I have definitely had my highs and lows and some of those were probably granted. I've got to keep doing what I'm doing and play good footy."

Form spikes, much like form lapses, are always hard to analyse, but Watts says playing with more self-assurance has been a significant reason for his recent improvement.

"I haven't changed a lot in my routine and what I've been doing. I probably just say the main factor is confidence and my teammates getting more confidence in me as well," he said.

"They are willing to kick me the ball one on one and I am probably used to getting around to more contests, working a bit harder out on the ground and I've got to keep it going."

Luke Holmesby covers Melbourne news for afl.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_LHolmesby.