MELBOURNE gave upplenty to prise the highly touted Dom Tyson away from Greater WesternSydney, but the inevitable comparisons with Giant Josh Kelly don't fazethe new Demon.
Melbourne was so keen onTyson that they parted with pick No. 2 in last year's NAB AFL Draft toland him. The deal also involved the swapping of picks 20 and 72, whilethe Demons received Tyson and picks nine (Christian Salem) and pick 53.
Kellywound up at the Giants with the second pick in the draft, inevitablyleading to the start of endless career comparisons with Tyson.
"Youcan only control how you're going. If Josh (Kelly) is playing goodfooty then that's great, but [the comparison] doesn't really bother me,"Tyson told AFL.com.au.
The Tyson-Kellylink became less relevant when Demons coach Paul Roos publicly statedthat his club would not have chosen Kelly if they held on to pick No. 2in last year's draft.
"We actually didn't have Josh Kelly (ranked) as No. 2. So we wouldn't have taken him with pick two anyway," Roos told Triple M in April.
Regardless, Roos believes Tyson is developing at a faster rate than even he envisaged.
"I probably have been surprised by the immediate impact he's had," Roos told AFL.com.au.
"He'sa great student of the game which really helps him, and he's beenworking really hard on the defensive side of his game as well."
Originallyselected with pick No. 3 by the Giants in the 2011 NAB AFL Draft, Tysonmanaged 13 games in two years at the fledgling club.
Tyson'sprogress was hindered by injuries and the competitive environment thatcame with being just one of a number of early Giants' draft picks, butthe 20-year-old is relishing his opportunity now he's home in Melbourne.
"EventuallyI was going to try to get home (to Melbourne) in my career. Itobviously happened a little bit earlier than I thought it would have,"Tyson said.
"But 'Roosy' and the Melbourne staff were keen to have a meeting, and I was open-minded after a difficult year with injuries.
"For me, coming home I'm closer to my brothers and family and friends."
Nolonger dealing with the burden of trying to leap ahead of hiscontemporaries at the Giants, Tyson has relished the opportunity toprogress naturally.
A pure ball winner, he has started to take some pressure off co-captain Nathan Jones in the midfield.
It'salso a key reason why Tyson, Salem and Jay Kennedy-Harris are makingimportant contributions in Melbourne's gradual turnaround.
"We've tried to change our footy club to not rely on kids," Roos said.
"It's been something that's been seen here for a long time, and what we really want to do is make them earn their spots.
"Maybe because we've done that, they've been a lot better prepared coming into senior footy."
