WHEN Lachlan Keeffe was told he would play as a backman this pre-season, he was determined to make the most of the opportunity.

The Collingwood big man was headed back to the role he'd been groomed for when he first arrived at the club in late 2007.

He had stints in the ruck in 2009 - and by his own admission, got "murdered" as an 83kg lightweight who lacked the football nous to make it work - and then up forward when he debuted in the seniors in 2011.

But coach Nathan Buckley decided the 21-year-old would this year play where he showed promise in 2010 in the VFL and in last year's pre-season competition.
 
"At the start of the year, I wasn't too sure where I was going to be," Keeffe told AFL.com.au this week.

"I thought Bucks might throw me in that Leigh Brown type role, but he said this is where I want you to be."

With a soccer background and little experience in Australian Rules before his 2007 pre-listing from the AFL Queensland rookie search, Keeffe said playing in defence came more naturally. 

"I've always been a defensive kind of player. I don't have that spark or attacking instinct," he said.

"Defending is my go. I feel like I can see the game better."

In the first two rounds, Keeffe showed promise against Hawthorn's David Hale - who kicked a bag of "five or six" on him in a VFL game two years ago - and Richmond's Tyrone Vickery.

"It was good," Keeffe said, of his latest performance against Hale.

"It showed me how far I'd come."

Buckley said the in-roads Keeffe had made in the past six months had been excellent.

He recovered from post-season surgery to remove bone spurs from both hips - the first was done on the Monday after the Grand Final and the second two weeks later - and hit the gym when the rest of the team was in Arizona. 

And, his dedication to improvement can't be questioned.

"He's a very professional young man, does everything in his power to prepare and has chosen his role models well to understand what's required to be a professional in this environment," Buckley said.

"His game and his role over the last few weeks have been fantastic.

"I think we've seen him grow in that four hours over the past two weeks."

Keeffe was raised in the south-eastern Queensland town of Gympie, and knew very little about Australian Rules when he first played in year 11.

He was boarding at Brisbane's Marist College, and sampled the game with some rugby mates as "probably an excuse to get out of school on Mondays".

His rise to Collingwood followed on from recruiting manager Derek Hine's discovery of his impressive mobility at a Queensland talent search day where he trained with some of the Brisbane Lions' academy players.

Because Keeffe was so late to the game - and so quick to land on an AFL list after picking up a Sherrin for the first time - he knew he had plenty to learn once drafted.

In his first few years at the club, he took himself to opposition training sessions to see what they did that was different.

"In the early days, I felt I could get a grounding on how it worked and how games panned out. It gave me quicker development - not just watching games but watching players," he said.

"It's the more intricate stuff that's good. Sitting at home on the couch, you get the broadcast views, but going to the games every now and then helps."

He lives with fellow defender Ben Reid, who he has teamed with over the past fortnight in the absence of Chris Tarrant and Nick Maxwell.

"Seeing his development because he's come from being drafted as a forward, and in 2009 he played some really good footy in the VFL as a backline player, is good," Keeffe said.

"I keep telling him he's no good but the more I play with him, the more I see how good a player he is."

Keeffe has also absorbed instruction from the bevy of coaches and experienced players he's met so far including Alan Richardson, Luke Beveridge, Max Hudghton, Ben Hart and Simon Prestigiacomo.

"Even if you're making the team, you still want to develop and become the best player you can be," he said.

"If I take care of that, the other stuff will take care of itself."

Lachlan Keeffe is a $207,700 forward in Toyota AFL Dream Team. Register your team here.

Jennifer Witham is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow her on Twitter @AFL_JenWitham.