KEY recruit Heritier Lumumba says he feels like a first-year player again since joining Melbourne, although he is relishing the opportunity to help the club’s younger brigade as an experienced campaigner with 199 AFL matches to his name.

The 2010 Collingwood premiership player said it had been “really interesting” to join a new club as a mature-age player and he had relished his fresh start with the Demons.

“It’s been great. I’ve had a fantastic start to the Melbourne Football Club. Everyone has welcomed me from the staff to the playing group. It’s been a really smooth transition so far,” he told Dee TV.

“There’s been times where I’ve felt as though it’s been my first year again, walking into a brand new club environment.

“There has been a lot of nostalgia there with walking just across the road and going through similar experiences and getting to know guys names again and also learning the slight tweaks to game plans. There is a lot of information you have to take in and remember so I’ve found it really refreshing. 

“The thing that is different is that I do have the 10 years of experience, which has been really valuable to make the transition smoother but we also have 10 other players who have just walked into the football club.

“I’ve seen it as a role for myself to help those guys as well with some of the experiences or challenges they may be facing but also identifying the opportunities we all have ahead of us.”

Lumumba said he found the training standards “quite similar” to the Magpies so far.

“The basics of football – which is what you need to work on – wouldn’t vary too much from club to club,” he said.

“There are a few different tweaks to the program which I’ve really enjoyed.

“I’ve really relished the changes in perspectives and philosophies around training from the sports science group to the medical staff and also the coaches and assistant coaches. Those changes are things that I feel as though will allow me to get the best out of myself as an athlete and go to another level.”

Despite being in his first season at the club, Lumumba has already noticed the intensity and standard has lifted.

“To be honest, I can tell that the training has gone up to another level even though I wasn’t here last year. I can tell by what the guys have said and they seem to really be embracing the challenges that have come our way,” he said.

“I’m really enjoying it and don’t really have anything to compare it to apart from what we did at Collingwood. Like I said, it’s quite similar in terms of the workload.

“Last pre-season at Collingwood was a step-up for me and I have to say what we are doing at Melbourne is on par with that.”