'People will say I'm overrated because of the leagues I have played in'

A multiple league leading goal-kicker, Sam Dunstan admits he's not rated by some.

"I suppose a lot of people will say I'm overrated because of the leagues I have played in," he admitted.

"I've got to go to a better league and earn some respect, I guess."

Dunstan's honesty could be confronting for some, with footballers generally sticking by the old principle of never giving too much away.

But his forthright nature, in conjunction with his lethal accuracy around goal, will make him a personality player.

"You can make that point about kicking goals in lower profile leagues, but I still feel with the delivery not as precise and getting triple-teamed week in, week out, it's really hard as opposed to playing on a good defender, but getting it on a platter, that's my logic," he reasoned.

Dunstan was named Premier Data's full-forward of 2023 after kicking 93 goals for home club Donald and 40 for Southern Districts in the 2022-23 Northern Territory Football League.

An AFL statistic surfaced in July last year that Geelong was the most accurate team when kicking for goal at 51.8 per cent.

Incredibly, Dunstan averaged around 80 per cent.

"To have Sam and Darcy (Hope), it's going to form a strong one-two punch, most teams are over the moon if they can secure one big key forward, to have two is going to be enormous," Roos' assistant coach Ben Talarico enthused.

"A lot of our younger boys are going to have a lot more confidence with two focal points."

Prior to returning home last year, where he debuted as a teenager a decade earlier, Dunstan kicked 45 goals in only 10 games at Mallee Eagles in the Central Murray league in 2022, but it was his form at Central Highlands' club Hepburn which captured the attention of country football fans.

In his first season (2019) as a genuine full-forward, after spending the bulk of his career at centre half-back, Dunstan smashed the century barrier with 108 goals.

COVID forced the abandonment of 2020, but Dunstan returned in style with 82 majors from only 10 games the following season.

Ironically, COVID was a positive for the 97kg forward after osteitis pubis wrecked his VFL hopes at Richmond and Williamstown in 2016-17.

"I went to a few people, but a physio was the first one to tell me I had to strengthen my core and glutes, so I did a lot of work during COVID and the OP disappeared," he explained.

Dunstan turns 27 in early June, so the Roos are getting a player in peak form.

"Sam's best footy is still ahead of him and in the discussions we've had with him, he's really open about being excited to be part of a young list," Talarico praised.

The Roos return to the competition after failing to field a team last year due to a player shortage and the flooding of the clubrooms.