Draftee Ed Vickers-Willis has set his sights on playing in the midfield and will make his first appearance in his new role this weekend.

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The 18-year-old spent much of his junior football playing in defence but was recruited by North – with pick No.36 in last year’s draft – predominantly as a midfield type.

Vickers-Willis, who will play his first competitive match of the year on Saturday in Werribee’s VFL practice match against Footscray, said he will embrace the challenges of adapting to the position.

“A lot’s changed since I last played. Having had quite a few months down here (at North) and now that I’ve been training with the mids, I definitely see myself as a midfielder,” Vickers-Willis told NMFC.com.au.

“The strengths you have as a defender really change in the midfield because things like your defensive positioning – which was one of my biggest strengths when I played down back – now as an inside midfielder, isn’t quite as integral in your performance.”

Vickers-Willis is especially itching to get back on the park after experiencing a delayed start to his first pre-season in the AFL system.

The 190cm versatile tall suffered a quad injury in December – just two weeks after arriving at Arden Street – and was confined to the club’s rehab group until earlier this month.

Although Vickers-Willis is now taking part in full training and game sense sessions, he said his lengthy spell away from the main group wasn’t an ideal start to his time at North.

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“It’s been frustrating because you get down to the club and all you want to do is get out at training and learn from guys like Nick Dal Santo,” he said.

“I had injury troubles in the past but that was different because (this) is my full-time job, every day I was coming in here and going straight to rehab rather than being out on the track.”

The number 33 said his injury setback has helped him manage the mental demands of the game from a young age and has given him a chance to switch off and pursue his other interest – studying.

Vickers-Willis has embarked on a commerce degree at Melbourne University after completing his Year 12 studies last year with an ATAR score of 98.25.

“As an 18-year-old footballer, you can get swept up by footy and it dominates your life at some stages so (the injury) was hard, but it was important for me to find other things to focus on, that’s why I’m happy I’m going to uni,” he said.

Since resuming training, Vickers-Willis has been working on his tackling, body positioning and stoppage work.

His physical development has also come a long way in recent months, adding about 7kg to his frame by consuming a high-calorie diet which included full meals for morning and afternoon tea and two dinner meals.

Vickers-Willis said adding the extra bulk will facilitate his growth in the new midfield position.

“It’ll help me going inside to win the contested ball and will be helpful around the clearances to get it outside but then (I’m) also looking to improve my outside game and use that elite endurance to do some damage,” he said.

The youngster said the rigours of training have caught him by surprise; he’s had to push himself “five or six times a day” this pre-season.

“You’ll have your injury stuff which you just have to chip away through, but then you’ll have your cross training, your weights, your running and your two hours of training which are all physically demanding,” he said.

“What’s surprised me is even though you’re here five days a week or whatever, you still run out of time to do things – there’s still always more that you can improve on.”

As Vickers-Willis continues to develop to be able to cope with the requirements at the elite level, he said the advice he’s received from defender Jamie Macmillan is pushing him to reach his full potential.

“He said to me the biggest thing for him when he came in, he felt he didn’t know what he needed to improve on,” Vickers-Willis said.

“He thinks it’s really important that you have a grasp on what it is you need to do to improve and you’re the one in charge of your own development and your own learning.

“Yeah, sure, the development coaches and the other coaches are around to help you but it’s got to be you that knows where you want to take your game and what it is you can make stronger.”