Leadership comes naturally to exuberant Bulldog Nathan Hrovat and while just 15 games into his career, he is already conscious of providing an example to his younger teammates.

As the passing of the baton continues at the kennel, Hrovat is embracing the chance to learn from the high calibre of senior players at the Club, to best prepare him for the future.

“I definitely pride myself on being a leader for the young blokes… the next young group of boys coming through we are going to have to take on some responsibility and I think now is a good a time as ever to try to drive that,” he said.

“The tight knit group that we do have down at the Bulldogs, especially between the younger players is pretty unique and I think that probably helps on field as well.”

Backing up from his round 17 Rising Star nomination last week, Hrovat was a solid contributor again with 17 touches, a goal and a goal assist in the loss against Essendon on Sunday.

Hrovat has shown composure and an appetite for the contest in each of his eight senior games this season but he still sees plenty of improvement in his game going forward.

The accountability required in the AFL has been the biggest adjustment for the midfielder, but his recent performances indicate he is adapting well.

“When you come into the competition as a young kid you probably don’t put as much emphasis on defending – you probably think about getting the ball and kicking goals,” Hrovat said.

“You find if you don’t defend you get really exposed and that’s what great teams build their foundations on – a good defence.

“That’s definitely what we are trying to do and week by week we are trying to chip away at that and you can see when we do fall away from it, we do get blown out of the water a bit.”