THIS time last year Bruce Reville was a cult hero on the fringe of Brisbane's best team.
Now, he's still a cult hero, but the 25-year-old is well and truly entrenched in Chris Fagan's best outfit following a brilliant start to the season.
Reville has locked in a spot on the wing, with his 24 disposals against Carlton last Friday night a career high.
Not only are his numbers up (16 disposals a game, up from a career average of 11), but so is his impact, now averaging 4.7 score involvement (up from 2.5).
"Continuity is a big thing," Reville told AFL.com.au.
"The last two years I've been in and out of the side ... in my mind, I was on edge every week wanting to keep my spot.
"Being able to play week in and week out makes such a difference. I'm slowly getting to the stage where I feel comfortable."
Taking a longer road to the AFL than most, Reville is now in his third year and says he made huge strides during the most recent pre-season.
Along with learning from midfield coach Cam Bruce, the wingman has picked the brain of two men that have a wealth of experience in the same position – Hugh McCluggage and Jarrod Berry.
Reville has always been an outstanding kicker of the football and an excellent decision-maker, but McCluggage has also encouraged him to use his speed from congestion to find space.
It's something he did during the pre-season, with players going up to him after sessions to tell him how well he was playing and how tough he was to tackle.
And now they are seeing it in games as well; Reville is taking on opponents before unleashing his laser-like right foot to thrust Brisbane into attack.
"I've always known I had attributes to play at AFL level, but being given that confidence is huge," he said.
"It definitely started from the coaches. They know what I can bring to our ball movement with my kick and my run. They want the ball in my hands.
"In my first few games, that's all I was worried about - getting my role done and doing the selfless stuff.
"Now I feel like I can work off my opponent and hurt them the other way. It's that shift in mindset to challenge the opponent the other way that has changed."
Reville described Berry as his "mentor", believing he is the best winger in the competition when fully fit.
It was ironic that Berry's dislocated shoulder in the preliminary final against Collingwood last year paved the way for Reville to become a premiership player the following week against Geelong.
"Him being such a great mentor, I'd have loved to have played with him (in the Grand Final)," he said.
"In footy, things happen and I was so grateful to play in the Grand Final. It was a weird feeling, but I had to get over it and focus on what I could do to help our team win.
"It's been some self-evolution and lots of help from Hugh, Bez and Brucey … I've been surrounded by a great group."
The man who was born in Papua New Guinea, lived in Carins from the age of seven and played junior footy for Burrum Heads in Queensland's Wide Bay has now played 12 consecutive matches and shows no signs of slowing down.
"I want to push my potential as far as I can," he said.
"I'm really keen to play the Cats (on Thursday night). We know it's going to be a tough game. They move the ball well, they defend well.
"It's the type of challenge that's really exciting."