THE life of a small forward is all about opportunity.

The bounce of an oval ball from a marking contest can sometimes be all the difference between a good game and a poor one.

Addam Maric's football career has always been about opportunities on a grander scale and after struggling in the past few seasons, he is looking to make 2011 the year he cements himself in Melbourne's side.

If his form against Essendon in the NAB Cup qualifying final is anything to go by, he could soon find himself one of the first penciled in each week.

Maric booted three goals, including a nine-pointer, in the loss to the Bombers.

He said the match was his first step towards securing a much-coveted crumbing forward role.

"I've probably struggled a little bit over the last few years and since October I had a good pre-season. It was something I've built on in the past few weeks," Maric said.

"I want to build on each week, be consistent and play my role. I want to contribute every week and the rest will look after itself."

Maric has battled with shoulder and hip injuries since he was drafted with pick 21 in the 2007 NAB AFL Draft. But he identified areas he had to work on over the summer and said the benefits were already showing.

"Just forward pressure and making the most of my opportunities. A lot of blokes in my position were playing well last year, which made it harder," he said.

"Forward pressure these days is pretty vital. That's probably the main part."

Maric said there were signs that the attacking group including Liam Jurrah, Jack Watts and Lynden Dunn was gelling.

"It's probably been hard to play in Melbourne's forward line in the last few years and it's good now that we're actually getting some ball in there," he said.

"It is a lot easier for us forwards. If we keep doing the one-percenters we'll be right."