CALLAN Ward's brilliant performance against Richmond was evidence of the growing confidence the dashing midfielder has in both his ability and his body.

Ward, 21, amassed a season-high 27 possessions and went inside 50 nine times in the 35-point win.

It was the kind of display Dogs fans knew he was capable of after his eye-catching 30-disposal effort against St Kilda in last year's preliminary final.

Having thrown off the injuries that plagued him early in 2010, it's a level of performance Ward is hopeful he can reach more often now. 

"I guess it does give you a bit of extra confidence going into games knowing that I've been able to go okay in a big match like that," Ward says of his preliminary final showing.

"I feel a lot better now than the same time last year. I was out with OP, but having a really good pre-season under me has helped me a lot. Having hip surgery at the end of last year has made a huge difference for me too.

"It was tough at the time, but I think having those injuries might actually help me in the long term because my core is so much stronger now with all the rehab work I did."

Ward has played 45 games since the Bulldogs selected him 19th overall at the 2007 NAB AFL Draft with the pick they received from Richmond in return for Jordan McMahon.

Coach Rodney Eade has described him as having a bit of 'see ball, get ball' about his game in the early stages of his fledgling career which Ward explains is about trying to make him a more complete footballer.

"There are positives and negatives to that," he says.

"The positive is that I'm hunting the ball, but that can also mean that I'm ball watching a bit too much. If my opponent pushes off me and I'm not expecting it then he'll be gone the other way.

"We're just working on finding the balance between worrying about my man and getting the ball."

Ward was an unwitting participant in one of the most-talked about incidents of the season in round three when Gold Coast's Campbell Brown felled him with an elbow to the head.

He hasn't spoken to Brown since, but he doesn't hold any grudges over the hit that saw his opponent suspended for two games.

"I reckon I saw that replay about 25 times on the news," he says.

"I don't think there was too much in it. He was probably a bit unlucky to get me in the head."

Speaking of his head, Ward has received plenty of good-natured ribbing from teammates over the bouffant hairstyle he's sporting this year.

The big hairdo is the result of a friendly competition between teammates Tom Liberatore, Sam Reid and Ward who has already seen off Liberatore and now has Reid in his sights.

"Yeah, Libba couldn't keep going with his perm," he says, grinning.

"I think mine's a bit more noticeable than Reidy's. I reckon it's been growing for five or six months. I'm copping it nearly every day about my hair, but I can't let him beat me at anything."

Although the big hair won't last, that trademark determination to win will remain.

It was there when the Tigers challenged the Dogs in the third quarter on Sunday and Ward says the team's determination to succeed hasn't faltered despite the early struggles with form and fitness.

"We still believe we can win every game we play. As long as we have that belief we'll be ok," he says.

"We've just got to work on our consistency and play four quarters of football. We know we can do that, we've just got to put it together more often."