THE CHANCE to break the monotony of the home-and-away season and travel interstate is one most footballers readily embrace.

Normally, Will Minson would probably look forward to a scheduled trip to Perth, away from the familiarity of Melbourne and the club.

Last week, however, was not one of those occasions. The Bulldogs' clash with the Eagles at Subiaco coincided with the 11-day-long Melbourne International Jazz Festival, which has become an annual must-see for Minson, given his love of jazz.

"Music is a big passion of mine. The Melbourne International Jazz Festival is on at the moment, and there are some tremendous musicians out here," Minson told westernbulldogs.com.au.

"Some of my idols in Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea were here last week, and unfortunately I was in Perth and couldn't go and see Chick Corea.

"There's plenty more good gigs coming up this week, and on the weekend."

The 22-year-old has just moved into a small apartment in Fitzroy, and is yet to introduce his new neighbours to his saxophone. However, he has tried to introduce the concept of jazz to his Bulldog teammates – and somewhat unsuccessfully.

"Unfortunately, they tend to listen to the likes of Oasis and The Strokes," he said.

"That's not for me, but each to their own. Where's the fun in listening to the same stuff everybody else listens to?"

Minson has many interests outside of football, but concedes it can be hard to find the time to fit in alternative hobbies around the demanding schedule of an elite athlete.

"There's not much time in one's life outside of football, to be doing extras," he said.

"And, when you're not playing well, things like uni seem to fall behind a bit.

"You've got to make footy your first thought, and when I'm not playing, I go to uni. That's about all I have time for at the moment."

He is currently studying, or "battling through", as he likes to describe it, a civil engineering degree.

Understandably, he wants to prepare himself for his days after footy – although he'll play until he's "decrepit" – and considers what his life would have been like had he not taken the AFL path.

"It would have been completely different. I would have studying and graduated, hopefully, and probably studied another degree abroad and I'd be working somewhere for a construction firm, or an engineering firm," he said.

"It would have been completely different, but that will all come later in life."

Minson is rather critical regarding his form so far this season, and is at a loss to explain just why he is struggling to bring his best game to the fray each week.

"If I knew why, I think it would be much better. I think that's what every footballer asks themselves," he said.

"You ask yourself why, and what can you do, but you can probably play for a long time and not know why.

"I'm just still figuring it out. You do everything you can, you do your extra skills and you do extra running, and you do all sorts of things like that."

He doesn't believe the fact he's been upgraded to the club's No.1 ruckman has had a detrimental affect on his ability, and is embracing the chance to take on more responsibility.

"I don't think it relates to my form. You can still play well even if you're used sparingly," he said.

"Now I'm being used more and not playing as well. So I don't think it has an effect on it.

"The more pressure, the better, though. It makes it interesting.

"The bigger the challenge, the harder the challenge, the more exciting it is, and you want to rise to each occasion. The more (responsibility), the better."

Like many budding footballers, Minson was somewhat surprised when he was drafted in 2002, after not seriously considering a professional career until late in his schooling years.

"I played all the junior footy, and started around under-13s and from grade four up," he said.

"You never really think you could play AFL, as a young kid, and I think it wasn't until about year 11 or 12 that I thought maybe I could have a go.

"You then start not going out as much, and training more, and really thinking about AFL as a prospect, but you never know.

"That's one of the great things about the draft. People don't know if they're going to get drafted, who they're going to get drafted to or where they're going. It's all part of the fun of AFL."

He maintains his career so far as been "interesting", as he has embarked on a path that has involved learning, injuries and improvement – and believes his biggest leap in ability took place "from the end of my second year into my third year".

"In my first year, I spent the whole year playing for the Werribee reserves and that was a tremendous learning experience, as having to put on weight and learn about AFL is very hard," he said.

"In my second year, I played some senior football and unfortunately punctured my lung and missed about eight weeks, and then my third season was a good year, and then last year I broke my hand and I broke my leg, and that was that season.

"This year, I've just got to try and put it all together. I'm still only 22, and I still have a lot to learn, and there is a lot I can do."

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.