Max Gawn doesn't mind admitting he isn't the best person to ask about how Melbourne might fare in new coach Steven King's first season at the helm.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
But after a horror previous campaign marked by turbulence on and off the field, the 34-year-old ruck veteran is reinvigorated and in a buoyant mood when quizzed on the new-look Demons' prospects.
"I was very optimistic before wooden spoon years as well, but I am very optimistic," Gawn told AAP.
"We've got a good balance of guys that have been there before and are still hungry, and then a really good dash of young talent.
"We've been able to go to the draft and get some really good young guys that are all probably going to start in the midfield.
"So to say I'm optimistic, yeah, I am."
Looking back, what turned out to be 2021 premiership coach Simon Goodwin's final year at the helm could hardly have gone worse for Melbourne.
A seven-win season played out alongside ongoing speculation around superstar midfielders Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver, who were ultimately traded, while Goodwin was sacked in August.
Bizarrely, the call to axe Goodwin came days after an 83-point thrashing of West Coast.
It coincided with the arrival of filmmakers from Prime Video's 'Final Siren: Inside the AFL' documentary series, who shadowed Gawn throughout the trying period.
"They came in at a good time, when things were starting to heat up at our football club," Gawn said.
"I can now talk in hindsight because we're six months on, and I feel like the right decision was made, but at the time it was a tad surprising.
"I don't have a degree in chaos control, but that was my job within the playing group."
Gawn gained plenty more experience in the field last year.
Aside from the drawn-out Petracca and Oliver sagas, the long-time captain also had to deal with the fall-out from a heated on-field exchange with Steven May after the King's Birthday defeat to Collingwood.
May was unable to find a new home when told to look around at the end of the season and the two-time All-Australian defender's legal worries have also been cause for concern.
Off the field, new president Steven Smith and chief executive Paul Guerra hope to bring some stability to Melbourne after a period of upheaval at board level.
King's appointment was followed by the arrival of Ned Guy in the newly created role of chief of football and innovation, as the Demons' football department moves with the times.
Gawn views the new era with positivity, likening the series of changes during two years in the September wilderness to a period of uncertainty in 2019-20, which ultimately fed into the Demons' drought-breaking 2021 premiership.
A dozen players remain from the flag-winning team, while a talented group of high-end draft picks - led by Harvey Langford, Xavier Lindsay, Caleb Windsor, Xavier Taylor and Latrelle Pickett - offer hope for the future.
"It could be similar to what 2020 was for us, as a bit of a year that gets us back on the right path," Gawn said.
"Hopefully that means sooner rather than later we get back to the top."
King, 47, is central to it all.
Former Geelong and St Kilda ruckman King, who played in the Cats' 2007 premiership, spent 15 years in the box as an assistant coach at the Saints, Western Bulldogs and Gold Coast.
His fresh voice has been welcomed by the playing group, Gawn says, and has given the 17-year veteran in particular a new lease on life.
"Personality-wise, he's a bit of an opposite to Goody," Gawn said.
"Goody is a pretty intense human, where Kingy is a bit of a lovable larrikin, which is what ruckmen tend to be, so that definitely checks out.
"But he's certainly very, very smart. He knows the game extremely well and he can get, I think, the best out of his players.
"I know we're only in pre-season, but he's seeming to get a great response from the playing group, so I'm excited to get into a bit of adversity with him ... and see how he reacts and how our partnership gels."
On his appointment in September, King said he had wanted to retain Petracca and Oliver, but the Demons' first-choice midfield combination has since undergone significant changes.
Both were traded and fellow flag hero Jack Viney (achilles) has been ruled out for the first half of the season, leaving Gawn in charge of a distinctly youthful on-ball division.
Kysaiah Pickett and Trent Rivers are set to spend more time around the ball, Langford's development will be crucial, and Jack Steele has arrived from St Kilda to add some experience.
"That's kind of exciting, to be honest," Gawn said.
"The last five years you've probably gone, 'It's going to be Gawn, Viney, Petracca, Oliver.'
"There was no debate and every team would know that's our formation as well.
"Whereas St Kilda in round one probably have no idea who's going to be our starting midfield or the guys that are going to go through there.
"We can use that as a competitive advantage."