Michael Hibberd understands the frustration of Melbourne supporters who have not seen their team in September for more than a decade.
The dashing half-back knows what the club has been through since 2006, and experienced the raw frustration, even anger, on the final Sunday of the 2017 home-and-away season when the Demons missed the finals by 0.5 per cent.
Motivation: The Demons want to use the anguish of missing the finals as motivation, after losing to Collingwood in the final round last year.
Photo: AAPHad they beaten Collingwood a day earlier, the Demons were in. It wasn't to be, for West Coast defeated Adelaide to claim eighth spot. For the Demons, there was nothing left to do but use the anguish as motivation through the pre-season.
"We addressed it early in the pre-season. The first week, we spoke about what it had felt like. From then on, it's been about doing everything you can to be better. We haven't really spoke about it since. All we can do now is move forward and be the best we can be," Hibberd said.
"It [that Sunday] is pretty hard to forget - it was a pretty hard day. There were about six of us at my house watching [the Eagles game].
"Looking back now, it has been a little bit of a blessing because guys have come back with a real fire in the belly to play better and perform better when it matters. Dropping that game against Collingwood was really disappointing. It's one we should have won, and would have locked us in the finals.
"To watch a game and not be able to impact it, then to see the result of not making finals, looking back, it has been good for us because everyone is fit and firing. Hopefully, no one forgets what that feeling was like because it would be good to play finals this year."
Hibberd and a handful of his teammates, having watched the Mayweather-McGregor fight earlier that Sunday, had a few beers that night, before heading off for their post-season break.
The former Bomber and long-kicking half-back made trips to the US and Bali but returned in excellent condition, hoping to back-up his maiden All-Australian selection in a year when he also finished sixth in the best and fairest.
It was a remarkable comeback. He missed the 2016 season as part of the anti-doping suspensions imposed on the Bombers, and then sat out the first month of the 2017 campaign because of an Achilles issue. Upon returning, he enjoyed a career-high 27.4 disposals a game and ranked No.2 in the league for average rebound 50s.
Return: Michael Hibberd had a strong season in 2017, and wants to replicate it in 2018.
Photo: AAPHibberd, 28, said a stronger pre-season had him primed for what he hopes is another damaging year.
"Last year, I was pretty limited, I didn't really get into the main group until January or February," he said.
"I always think I can get better. I think I have had a reasonable pre-season compared to last year. I would like to think I am a bit fitter. My tendonitis in my knee has pretty much gone now - it's a manageable thing.
"That is something that has held me back in the last few years. I would like to think I have got a lot of improvement. If I can stay fit for the whole year, I would like to think I will be a lot better."
What the year off did do was reinforce how much he loved the sport and the success he wanted to enjoy, having played in only the one final with the Bombers - the losing 2014 elimination against North Melbourne.
"At the time you don't really worry about the future. I was pretty disappointed at missing a year of what I thought was my prime, at 26 but, now looking back, I would like to think it's put an extra couple of years on my footy because I feel better now than what I did last year and I would like to think I could play until I was 35," he said.
"Whether I can, that's another thing but last year, I thought the passion for footy was there more because I missed that year. I just love footy so much, to miss a year just put things into perspective for me. Now I love it more than ever. I would like to think the back end of my career, I know it hurt me to miss a year, but maybe it was a blessing ... time will tell."
In the meantime, he and the Demons have work to do. In what shapes as a deep list, they have several options across half-back, including veterans Jordan Lewis and Bernie Vince. Hibberd said the forward line was the hardest to select. Candidates include the emerging Bayley Fritsch, Mitch Hannan, Jake Melksham, Christian Petracca, Alex Neal-Bullen, Tom McDonald, Jesse Hogan and James Harmes. Petracca and Hogan will also have stints in a versatile midfield.
They have begun the campaign well, crunching North Melbourne in the opening JLT Community Series match. They next play St Kilda at Casey Fields on Thursday. Then the season proper opens in a blockbuster against Geelong, the first step towards what could be satisfying the finals ache of anyone associated with the club.
"You get those messages from supporters and members - they would be frustrated, no doubt, over the last decade of not playing finals," Hibberd said.
"They can sense a bit of improvement now and the expectation of us to play finals and be better is there. We need to embrace that and not shirk away from it, as players.
"It's time now to live up to the expectations that we are going to put on ourselves and the members expect of us. I think we are ready for that. Hopefully, it will be a good year."
Jon Pierik is a sports writer with The Age, focusing primarily on AFL football, cricket and basketball. He has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.
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