Determination has been the cornerstone of young Richmond defender Matt Dea’s game throughout his five years of AFL football to date, both on and off the field.

Dea has needed to dig deep in the determination department, too, given the number of injury setbacks he’s suffered along the way, which have restricted him to just 31 senior appearances in those five seasons with the Tigers.

The 23-year-old is currently dealing with a hamstring injury, however he remains upbeat about this long-term prospects for season 2015.

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“It’s a little bit frustrating . . . I got a good start (to the pre-season) and then had a little ‘hammy’ issue, that’s kept me down for a few weeks,” Dea told ‘Roar Vision’.

“It’s a long season ahead that I need to be right for.  So I’ve been cautious at this stage, just trying to get on top of the hammy, and then be right for the whole year hopefully.

“Over the next two to three weeks I’ll build up some speed running and just keep working hard on my strength in the gym . . . and then hopefully play a game, which would be nice.

“I think I’ll be struggling to get a NAB Cup game in, but there’s a VFL ‘praccy’ game in between the end of NAB and start of Round 1, so that’d be great to get . . .”

Dea was sidelined at the start of last season with a hand injury, but forced his way into Richmond’s senior line-up for the Round 10 match against Greater Western Sydney, and managed to string seven consecutive games together, before returning to the VFL.

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“At the end of the day I got dropped, but I had some good continuity in there . . . I’m looking forward to hopefully playing a few more this year,” he said.

In terms of his on-field role, Dea is focused on finding the right balance between offense and defence.

“I think, naturally, I’m a bit better at playing that lockdown role, but I do like having the footy in my hands . . . I think I’ve become a better kick, so I’m definitely more confident with the footy.  I’m more than happy to try and get a few more touches,” he said.

Dea’s latest injury setback has meant a slight modification to his goals for the upcoming season.

“At the start of pre-season, I wanted to play every game . . . I wanted to start Round 1 and hold that throughout the year.  But obviously now, with a little bit of a setback, I think I’ll just try and get into the senior side as early as I can and hold out the rest of the year, and hopefully play a finals game.  I haven’t done that yet, so I’d really love to be part of a finals side,” he said.