The 28-year-old, who will play his 100^th game later this season, is currently travelling from Broken Hill each week, some nine hours each way from the club, in order to pull on the jumper.

Contracted to sheer and crutch sheep in the outback New South Wales city by day, it's taking serious commitment and a belief in the club's direction to return home and contribute strongly on a Saturday afternoon in the Warrnambool and District league.

He said while there was times he considered giving up footy, he was driven by an exciting future at the club.

"When we're playing good footy it becomes a lot more enjoyable," he told The Standard. "Last year was a hard year and probably halfway through it I didn't want to keep going but I pushed through it. It's not a good look if you just stop playing football because you're getting beaten.

"Even this year at the start I wasn't overly keen with travel work-wise and we got pumped a few times but we've turned it around and even though the scoreboard doesn't quite reflect it at times, we've played some good footy."

The big man has had previous stints with Simpson and Panmure but his heart lies with the Demons where he played juniors and seniors before eventually making his way back in 2022.

He said the return of former coach Mick Hunt as president was a driving factor in the club bouncing back.

"About five or six years ago I came back from Panmure to Timboon and Mick coached us and we played finals," he said.

"It seems whenever Mick is officially involved in the footy club everyone seems to want to get involved.

"He just knows how to talk to people the right way and get them excited, even with the juniors and the support on a Saturday has been huge this year."

As a senior player among a young group beginning a journey towards on-field success, Negrello said he was thoroughly enjoying being a leader.

"It is a bit more exciting to have some great juniors there who look up to you but at the same time you've got to make sure you're performing each week to keep the ball rolling," he said.

"When they see the senior players putting their head over the ball the young guys will be more willing to go in for it more but it does make it hard having a young side.

"It can be frustrating at times with a young side, we'll have ups and downs but if we can win some more games of football and it comes to next year and we try and recruit players, they can see we are competitive and going in the right direction."

With champion playing-coach Marcus Hickey currently battling injury, Negrello is serving as the number one ruckman and flourishing in the role.

"I've taken on the role and played all four quarters in the ruck and I don't mind it, it keeps you involved all day," he said.

"I just want to be competitive and put my head over it. If you rock up with the attitude you're going to lose you might as well not be there."

Negrello added the club was in a unique position with its juniors, particularly the under 18 team which sits top of the table.

"A lot of clubs don't even have juniors and then we've got us going really well but the main thing moving forward is keeping them," he said.

"Most want to to go to Hampden clubs but Mick (Hunt) has a way of keeping them and it helps with recruiting blokes because they will look at the juniors as a way of seeing the direction the club is heading in."

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