Emerging midfielder Declan Mountford is determined to play a role in North Melbourne’s push for a finals berth.

It’s been a difficult year for the West Australian, who has had to overcome a series of injuries which have kept him on the sidelines, most recently hamstring soreness.

As he approaches his first game of footy in almost two months, Mountford admits it’s been a difficult year.

“It’s been a trying year so far,” he told North Media.

“The week before our first practice match, I dove for a ground ball and landed on my shoulder funny. It popped a little bit and had minor surgery, facing five weeks out which I wasn’t too worried about.

“It wasn’t till our first game in the VFL that I copped a tackle which made my ankle roll over. I ended up tearing a few ligaments in my ankle, which was a bit frustrating.

“I made it back for half a game against Box Hill, where the boys had a good win. My body was in a good spot and I was perhaps training harder than I normally do, trying to impress coming off an injury.

“It was then I felt my hamstring go a little bit.”

The concerns surrounding Mountford’s hamstring proved to be more serious than he had initially thought.

Given the fragile nature of hamstring injuries and their subsequent rehabilitation, he opted for a more cautious approach to ensure his injury was allowed sufficient time to heal.

“I didn’t go home for any break, I stayed here and tried to put in some extra work. It’s finally ready to go, but it’s been a long and frustrating year.

“There’s still five or six rounds to go in the season with potential finals campaigns for both of our sides. Hopefully there’s enough time left to make an impact.”

With Mountford’s existing contract running till the end of the 2018 season, the 21-year-old is eager to prove his worth ahead of an important month of footy.

“When I think about it, I’ve only really played two proper injury-free halves this year,” he explained.

“Now that I’m back, I’m hoping to string a couple of games together to demand a new contract. There are a lot of winnable games ahead.

“This next month of footy is going to be pretty important. This is why we play football, to challenge ourselves against the best.

“I want to have a mark on these important games and show that I deserve my spot.”

When probed on his motivation to return to his best, Mountford cited an earlier conversation had with star midfielder Shaun Higgins.

“I’m certainly not the first to face some adversity, there’s a lot of guys to look up to here,” he said.

“One particular message was from Shaun Higgins. He talked about when he was at the Bulldogs, he had a pretty serious injury early into his season and basically missed the entire year through injury.

“He ended up getting back the week before finals and managed to play a couple of games where they made the prelims. Even though he missed most of the season, it was one of his most memorable years.

“I’m hoping to replicate something he did and draw inspiration from that.”

Fans are invited to attend Sunday’s VFL match against Frankston at Skybus Stadium, with the first bounce at 12.00pm.