Young Melbourne wingman Kynan Brown is eyeing more matches at the elite level in 2025, after getting a taste for the action in his debut season.
Brown played two matches for Melbourne after being selected as a father-son rookie in 2023, however, both were as the substitute, with the 20-year-old playing on the field for just 26 minutes across both games.
The hunger to reach the top flight again has Brown driven this pre-season, placing second in back-to-back 2km time trials, falling just behind endurance machine Harry Sharp.
Brown said to the club that joining the full pre-season routine in his second season, compared to the limited program in his first year, has been beneficial for his development.
"I think (the difference in your second pre-season) just knowing the standards, knowing your routine," Brown said.
"You're in more of the drills now, you're doing the full pre-season, last year I was itching to get into all the drills.
"It's good to be in everything now and you know what to expect."
Brown set back-to-back personal bests in his time trial efforts this pre-season, something he said he aspires to maintain.
"I think that's something I pride myself on, my endurance and my speed," Brown said.
"It was good to come second behind Sharpy, something I've really been working on during the off-season.
"It's just about running your individual race; you try and push yourself as much as possible."
"For me, I just want to try beat my time every time, so for me, it's just pushing myself as much as possible.
"It was good to beat both my times back-to-back, I was really happy with it."
Brown also noted his aspirations for more senior appearances in 2025. With Melbourne's loss of Alex Neal-Bullen, Brown will be vying for a position along the wing or in the forward line, presenting as a hard-running, pressure player.
Brown's elite pressure and two-way running was on full display in his debut match, recording a game-saving tackle against North Melbourne to secure Melbourne a three-point win.
Brown had a standout performance at state-league level too, recording a mammoth 24 tackles in a wet game against Frankston.
"I'm trying to push to play more senior games, that'd be something that's definitely a goal for me," Brown said.
"And then just continue to learn and learn my role as best as possible, as well as just continue to grow in the pre-season as a player.
"We've got some intra-clubs coming up, some practice games, so that will be good to keep growing and I'm looking forward to this season."
Brown has said previously he had a strong connection to now-Crow Neal-Bullen, although this year he is learning his role off of other veterans such as Kade Chandler and Ed Langdon, as he transitions from his junior role as a midfielder to forging an AFL career in the forward half and along the wing.
The lessons learnt from the experienced Demons are hoping to hold Brown in good stead, as he aims to be seen in the red and the blue consistently in 2025.
"I came in as a midfielder, but as pre-season went on I leant towards the wing and forward, so [I'm] leaning on guys like Kade Chandler, Ed Langdon and learning my role as best as possible," Brown said.
"It was different to U18s footy, so I was learning as much as possible and it's been really good for me.
"Coming into this year, it's just about nailing everything I've learned even more.
"It was good to get the debut under my belt but now it's just about pushing myself even more.
"I want to continue to drive the standards and continue to push for more senior games. That's 100 per cent the goal."
Melbourne's Community Series clash comes against Fremantle in WA on Sunday, March 2, with the Demons' first official match of the home and away season against GWS on Sunday, March 16 at the MCG.