Carlton midfielder Dale Thomas believes he took a step forward in Thursday night's loss to Richmond, moving closer to producing the football the winless Blues desperately need from their star recruit.
Having played more through the forward line and with reduced minutes on the ground in the pre-season and round one, Thomas was unleashed in the second half against the Tigers.
The former Magpie won 14 of his 23 possessions after the main break and had three clearances, showing signs that he was physically ready to return to the midfield full-time after recovering from his long-running ankle issues.
"[The improvement after half time] was just being able to get up around the ball and play around the wing and midfield," Thomas told AFL.com.au.
"Each week as I get some more footy under my belt, I'll be able to spend more time through the midfield and around the ball, and that's where I want to play.
"I've put some pretty high expectations on myself, and it is frustrating to physically not be able to do what you want to do and know you can do.
"But each week I'm progressing, like the team, and trying to work harder to become better … it's another step in the right direction."
Thomas said he was satisfied with his ability to play 80 per cent game time on Thursday night and "that's where it needed to be".
The result left a bitter taste, however, after the Blues cut a 37-point deficit to just one point in the final term before eventually losing by two goals, with missed shots costing them dearly.
"We obviously had chances and we hung in there long enough to give ourselves a chance to win the game, but in the end we didn't take those chances," Thomas said.
"As a result we've lost the game and it is a bit disappointing.
"I guess you try and find the positives in that and we did hang around long enough to give ourselves a chance to try and win it, so we take something out of that."
After a disappointing round one performance against Port Adelaide, Thomas said the Blues were playing "good footy in patches", but struggling to produce for four quarters.
He said pressure would come after the club's second consecutive 0-2 start under Mick Malthouse, but the team was capable of rebounding against Essendon in round three.
"We've got a lot of belief that when we play our best footy we'll give it a shake against anyone, and we showed that for three quarters," Thomas said.
"There's no doubt 1-1 is better than 0-2, but it is what it is.
"We can't do anything about it. All we can do is learn from it and train hard and try and improve individually and as a group.
"The beautiful thing about footy is you get a chance to try and rectify it the next week."
