Ben Brown says a positive mindset was the catalyst behind his strong VFL performance on Sunday.

The 22-year-old said rather than dwell on his omission from the senior side, he used his return to Werribee determined to improve his game.

"Crock (interim coach Darren Crocker) said I was being omitted from the side (last week) and that was obviously disappointing to start with but it was really important to me to take a positive mindset back,” Brown told NMFC.com.au.

"It’s about doing the simple things well, especially the defensive stuff, which I’ve been looking to improve on in recent times."

The tall forward booted an impressive four goals and had 12 touches and seven marks in the win over Coburg on the weekend, in his first game at VFL level since last season.

"It is definitely a little bit different (playing in the VFL) ... but you’ve got to play with the situation you are given. The guys at Werribee are a real professional outfit," he said.

"I really wanted to have an impact, especially in the air and I thought I was able to do that, aided by some good delivery."

Brown said the competition for spots in the forward line at Arden St was well and truly heating up at the right time of the season, with players knowing their place in the AFL side were on the line every week.

"We’ve got a lot of pressure coming up," he added.

"It is really good for us and hopefully we can build it on here. We need to get our form going. We need to play some better games in the coming week.

"We’re still confident that we can get that and we’re still confident we can play good footy."