If a teammate’s form drops, Western Bulldog Christian Howard has made it known, he is waiting in the wings at Williamstown and the 22-year-old has never been more determined.

Experience tells Howard that selection for the season’s opener is not the be all and end all – and while disappointed he wasn’t named, the fourth year recruit refuses to let one week dictate the rest of his season.

“I am a lot fitter and stronger than I was last pre-season – that’s the first step,” Howard said.

“I actually trained a lot with Picko (Liam Picken) – tried to mimic the way he trains, how professional he is.

“That is one of the things I identified at the start of the pre-season, that I want to train harder and more consistently and so I just latched onto him.”

An injection of young talent through the draft and four mature aged recruits has resulted in increased depth at the kennel – particularly through the midfield.

The added competition has not deterred the South Adelaide recruit, however, from staking his claim on a spot in the Bulldogs starting lineup.

“Competition was always there, it was never easy to get a spot, so I don’t think much has changed in that regard,” he said.

“I am still in a pretty good headspace, talking to all the coaches I know exactly what I have to do to get back into the team.”

While Howard’s run and accurate kick holds value in the senior lineup, he is aware that it will become harder to break into the Bulldogs team if their good form continues.

Crediting confidence and a defensive mindset as the two key factors that will stand in his way, the left-footer is determined hone in on both in the VFL until form permits a senior call up.

“The main thing at the moment is just confidence, going out there and playing like I feel like I belong,” he said.

“In the first game a lot of my defensive actions weren’t up to where they needed to be and that is exactly how Macca wants us to play this year – it’s all going to be about defence.”

While working on the defensive side of his game has been a focus, Howard said it’s the inner voice that he now needs to learn how to control.

“The defensive things are a mindset – you can practice them at training but when it comes to games it’s all about how you want to go about it,” he said.

“You can’t be thinking, you can’t be reactive - you have to just do it.”