AFTER spending seven weeks on the sidelines nursing a fractured foot, Collingwood forward Dayne Beams is hungrier than ever to put forth a strong finals series.

The 21-year-old will enter the Magpies' first final with six games under his belt after his return from the injury in round 19 against Essendon.

But what's more important is his improved mindset, which even he says was lacking in the early stages of this season around the time he was dropped to the VFL for rounds six and eight.

"I guess my hunger for footy wasn’t at its highest, what it should be," he said this week, as the Pies prepared for their qualifying final against West Coast.

After his VFL spell, Beams returned to the team in round nine and played three games before he suffered the potentially serious injury.

It was against St Kilda in round 11 when he first noticed the soreness in his right foot, which quickly turned nasty when he continued to run on it.

"I felt a little crack in it and I couldn't go on from there," he said

"Scans showed I had a little stress fracture in the foot, and I spent a bit of time on the sidelines.

"They got on top of my injury pretty early. I only cracked it, I didn't completely go through it, [but] all your body weight goes through your foot so you have to make sure."

There was no operation that could shorten his rehabilitation. Instead, he had to just rest, have "a lot" of physiotherapy, and sit in the stands and watch his premiership teammates and new Magpies continue to win games.

While it was frustrating for the 2008 draftee, he said it could quite possibility end up being the best thing for him as he looks to put the disappointing form he showed in last year's finals behind him.

"Spending a little bit of time out of the game and watching my good mates go about it, you just want to be out there with them," he said.

"I’m hungrier than ever now, and I really want success.

"I sat in the stands for seven weeks, you see where the boys are going and the quality of the blokes who come in, they can fill the places pretty easily.

"I guess footy became probably my main priority, whereas before I don’t know if I was professional enough, doing all the right things."

Surprisingly, Beams was recalled straight back into the senior side when he was fit ahead of the round 19 clash with the Bombers, and didn't have to regain match fitness in the VFL.

It was a small gesture by the coaching staff but a big one for Beams. It further emphasised just how hard he needed to start working in order to justify their belief. 

"I thought I'd have to come back through the VFL," he said.

"The coach has showed an enormous amount of faith and trust in me and hopefully I've been able to repay him a little bit.

"I hope I haven’t let them down."

It's now the time of year Beams has been waiting for since last September/October, when he was part of the Magpies' triumphant finals campaign but well below his individual best.

He averaged just 14 touches a game across the Pies' four finals, which was down from the 21 he averaged across the home-and-away season.

He also failed to kick a goal in either of the Grand Finals after recording 32 across the season beforehand. 

"I obviously didn’t play my best footy during the finals, but I was just trying to contribute in other areas that I could," he said.

"I kept my spot and was able to share a special moment with the boys, so hopefully we can do it all again this year.

"In my season review that was the thing I mentioned to the coaches, that I’ve got a burning desire inside me to play well in finals.

"I don’t want to be known as a player who can’t play well in those big games.

"I’ve got a challenging four weeks ahead of me, and hopefully can play some of my best footy."

Jennifer Witham covers Collingwood news for the AFL Website. Follow her on Twitter @AFL_JenWitham.