MELBOURNE veteran Aaron Davey said he felt like a teenager again after being freed of the green substitute's vest for the first time in a month against Richmond on Sunday.
The zippy 29-year-old made the most of his start, gathering 19 disposals and kicking three goals in a lively performance.
In a team often lacking polish, Davey's ability to find space and use the ball well provided a spark as the Demons turned in a competitive effort in the 34-point loss.
"When you're the sub a few times in a row, it makes you a lot hungrier to come out and be given that opportunity," Davey told AFL.com.au after the match.
"I felt like a teenager again, getting my opportunity at the start of the game.
"At the same time, I probably set myself to try and inspire my teammates early in the game.
"We haven't had the best starts in the past couple of weeks, and I think we improved on that – we went into the quarter-time break in front."
Before Sunday, Davey had played five games this year, being subbed off in his second and starting as the substitute in his past three.
Melbourne coach Mark Neeld said the issue had been match fitness.
"He's been working really hard, and it's taken a bit of time for him to get back to a fitness level that can see him running out AFL games," Neeld said.
"He's achieved that.
"We know he's an elite user of the footy, and that clearly stands out in our team."
After a lacklustre effort against Gold Coast in round seven that put the club and its coach under heavy scrutiny, Melbourne's physical pressure and competitive intent was vastly improved against the Tigers.
Davey said he hoped his teammates would now have the confidence to maintain the same level for the remainder of the season.
"We're a little disappointed we couldn't come away with the result, but the effort we showed is a massive tick going forward," he said.
"Last week was unacceptable.
"The attitude, and the willingness to hunt and tackle, was the thing that kept us in the game today for the whole four quarters.
"That's the standard now, and we've got to build on that."
Davey said a week of highly physical training had set the Demons up for the improved showing.
"I felt we prepared and trained well this week," he said.
"We had some really competitive training sessions – a lot of tackling and wrestling.
"It was one of things where when you train it, you see it come out in the game.
"I'm sure we'll probably train it again; we don't want to sit back and get comfortable.
"Like I said, it's still disappointing we didn't get the result, but we'll take the positives out of it."
