MELBOURNE onballer Shane Valenti says he is unsure what his future is at the club, but he is doing his utmost to remain a Demon in 2010 and beyond.

Valenti played his best game for Melbourne against Fremantle at the MCG on Sunday but said he entered each match thinking it could be his last after being recruited from the VFL.
 
"No [I haven't spoken to the club about next year yet], but I've just got to take my opportunity, which has been presented and hopefully I'll play the rest of the year," he told melbournefc.com.au.

"Everything I can, I've got to go out on the field and just show that I want to be a part of this club going forward. I am still young, so hopefully I'll still get a shot.

"Every week I think this could be the last, so I may as well make the most of my opportunities and have a decent crack, because I don't want to die wondering."

Valenti, who has almost finished his two years on Melbourne's rookie list, will have to be promoted to the senior list or be redrafted to remain at the club.

And after claiming a game-high 30 disposals against Freo and being among Melbourne's best, the 176cm Demon has shown he can play in the big league.

"I've had it (critics) throughout my whole career. People judge you by your size and people don't think you're quick enough, so to get 30 [disposals] today was a good achievement – I never thought I'd achieve that in the AFL," Valenti said.

"It was good just to prove some people wrong, but it's just good to know that I can play and I know now that I might be able to have a bit of a career out of it."

Valenti says Hawthorn midfielder Sam Mitchell – a former VFL player overlooked in a handful of drafts before becoming a premiership captain – has provided him with some inspiration.

"I'd heard the story about Sam Mitchell and our fitness and speed guy Bohdan Babijczuk worked pretty close with Sam Mitchell [at Hawthorn] and said: 'If you work hard enough, I see you potentially being what he [is]'," he said.

"So guys coming out of the VFL is a bit of a different way – it's not out of the draft and it's a backdoor way – but I know I have to fight for whatever I can get and I'll continue to do that."

Overall, Valenti was delighted to play in a winning Melbourne team.

"I knew I had to wait. Obviously there are a lot of senior guys who play my role and with 'Greeny' [Brad Green] and 'Brucey' [Cameron Bruce] out of the side injured, it gives my an opportunity to come in and put my hand up and take it," he said.

"Being out of [the senior side] for so long, you forget how quick it is at that level. After a couple of games, you get used to the tempo and you start to feel a little bit more confident to take someone on that you wouldn't normally go for."