AS HE readies himself for his third-ever finals game, Melbourne co-captain Nathan Jones has allowed himself to look back on the up-and-down journey he has taken to this point of his career.
A 18-year-old Jones was playing in his seventh and eighth games of his now 261-game career when he ran out in Demons colours for their elimination final win over St Kilda and semi-final loss to Fremantle in 2006.
Those two matches 12 years ago were the last time Melbourne appeared in September action.
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But that painful finals drought is set to change for Jones, now 30, and the Demons in Friday night's elimination final clash against Geelong.
"Personally, for sure I've reflected," Jones said on Wednesday.
"To be in this position, having made some choices personally four, five, six years ago – (that) this is what I was in it for (is satisfying).
"To finally see the position that we're in, through the amount of work, by not only myself, but handfuls of people that have been involved from the bottom up, I'm excited about the opportunities."
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Jones said he shared in the excitement of success-starved Melbourne fans ahead of Friday night's much-anticipated clash.
"Our supporters have been there through thick and thin, and I've ridden that journey with them for 12 years – and I love seeing the excitement in their faces and I think the players do as well," Jones said.
"We play a brand of footy that they relate to, they can get in behind and support and we're excited that we've given them the opportunity to come and watch us play in September and hopefully we can bring them as much joy as we feel when we play well."
Jones has received messages of support from former Melbourne teammates.
"I've had a handful of messages wishing me all the best personally and they're excited to see the footy club back to where they wanted it to be," Jones said.
"I heard Angus Brayshaw say this (on Tuesday) and I tend to agree with him: 'If you don't barrack for Melbourne, there is a soft spot for us' and I think people are happy to see us succeeding again."
Jones has also backed returning midfielder Jack Viney to make a major impact in Friday night's final in his first game since round 16.
"His best takes us to a whole new level and I expect him to come and deliver that," Jones said.
"I haven't seen him better prepared, to be honest… he's ready to go and I expect a pretty ferocious intensity from him around the footy."
Coach Simon Goodwin said midfielder Dom Tyson would face a fitness test at training on Thursday, but he expects the midfielder to play.
"Dom's ready to go. He trained fully yesterday (Wednesday). He's got a couple more boxes to tick tomorrow but if he gets through that he'll be ready to play," Goodwin said.
Forward Mitch Hannan and defenders Joel Smith and Jayden Hunt remain in the selection frame despite playing in the VFL on Saturday.
