Cats TV asked Tom Lonergan and journalist Scott Gullan on Argue the Toss to explain why Mathew Stokes has taken his game to a whole new level?

Stokes’ tenacious qualities have been apparent since round one with an average of 26 disposals, compared to 11.5 this time last year.

This year the small midfielder has taken on every game as though it’s his last and everyone is enjoying the show. This week Stokes took the lead in the Age Footballer of the year award, along with Hawthorns’, Sam Mitchell, and Port Adelaide’s, Travis Boak, with 37 votes each.

“I know for a fact that Stokesy had an exceptional preseason and he started a bit earlier than most guys… he’s done unbelievable work in the midfield and he has taken his game to a new level,” Lonergan said.

According to Gullan, Stokes was disappointed with his output last year and has taken every opportunity to re-establish his worth.

“I think what happened with Stokesy and he admits this, he is a very honest character,” Gullan said.

“He had a bad year by his own standards last year and he saw Motlop and Christensen and all those guys coming in hard, last year contract, late 20s, everyone was probably starting to circle him in as maybe he’s in trouble here and he’s responded… and he’s been exceptional.”