The AFL season has finally arrived and after another gruelling pre-season players are itching to get out and play for premiership points.

But for some players who get left on the fringes, the start of the season can throw them into an even bigger challenge as they desperately vie for a spot.

While the media and fans are buzzing with excitement, there is almost a sense of dread when it comes time for the team list announcement knowing that you won’t feature.

An important part of performance is confidence and it can be a real hit to the ego to know you have done everything possible and are still not quite good enough.

And it does not matter if you have won a flag or not as Hawks veterans Luke Breust and Jack Gunston found out the hard way. Having both been part of Hawthorn’s dominant three-peat title winning side a decade ago, alongside current coach Sam Mitchell, did not guarantee them a spot in the season opener on Friday night.

One of the hardest pieces of feedback I ever received as a player was after missing out on selection for Commonwealth Games in 2010.

Non-selected athletes had the opportunity to get feedback from the coach and I opted to hear it before the long flight from Canberra to Perth.

I still remember sitting across from Australian coach Norma Plummer and being told “it’s just not your time yet, kid”.

Sport at the top level is tough and one of the biggest challenges is finding a way to privately deal with disappointment of missing out while still doing whats best for the team.

I understand that young players need to be patient and bide their time, but if I waited for the older players around me to retire I could have been warming the bench for years.

Competition for positions is healthy in an elite environment and goes a long way to increasing the intensity and standard at training.

I ultimately decided to use my feedback as motivation to push me to train harder and the following year I had forced myself into the team for World Cup in Singapore.

In the early rounds of the season it’s going to be hard for players to prove they deserve a spot with no reserve competitions to play in.

VFL kicks off during round two, SANFL round three and WAFL not until round four, which means players on the outer at senior teams are left to play more fairly meaningless practice games.

While freshly drafted players aren’t guaranteed to get a run in their debut season, there are players that have been on the list for three and four years who are still fighting for a look in. Your expectations can change year on year.

It can be pretty isolating as times as a non-selected player. A team-first mentality is all about prioritising “we” over “me” and this is where team culture becomes extremely important.

Injury and suspension can strike at any time and good teams have players that can slot straight into their system. Hawthorn won four premierships under Alistair Clarkson’s mantra that every unavailability meant it was “next soldier in” and he backed his fringe players to serve as direct replacements.