AT THE start of last season, Tom Bellchambers had a meeting with James Hird where the new Essendon coach said he wanted Bellchambers to become the club's first-choice ruckman. More than a year on, that idea is beginning to firm in Bellchambers' mind.

At 22, Bellchambers is the youngest member of the Bombers' much-discussed ruck trio. But, with David Hille missing the last three weeks with a calf strain and expected to sit out a few more, Bellchambers has been given an opportunity to take the reins.

It is a chance he's enjoying.

"I'm the number one ruckman at the moment and that's where I see myself," Bellchambers told AFL.com.au.

"Obviously David Hille is out at the moment and I've got the number one ruck mantle, and it's up to me to hold it and to make it hard for him to kick me out of the team when he's back."

This is not Bellchambers laying down the law to Hille. The pair, along with Patrick Ryder, work closely together. They study vision of opponents and each other, and spend significant time with the midfield group every week.

But the nature of rucking means that they are often in competition for a limited amount of spots. Last year Hird trialled - to varying success - using all three in the same team.

Bellchambers finished the year having played a career-high 13 games for the season, but whenever the coach decided to strip it back to two rucks, Bellchambers was first omitted.

He admits it was tough going back to the VFL, but recognises the reasons why.

"It's frustrating because I obviously want to play senior footy as much as I can, but at the same time I understand I'm only 22 years old and I've still got a lot of things I need to work on," Bellchambers said.

"Going back to the VFL is a good opportunity to work on those things and to really gain confidence to get back into the senior team where I'm expected to perform, so it's not as if I'm coming in to just fill the void of David Hille not being there."

More time in the AFL system (this is his fifth season on Essendon's list) has been crucial to Bellchambers' development. But he has also focused on two major things: his professionalism and work-rate.

He's preparing for games and recovering from them better, and also training at an elite standard for longer. When he does go back to the VFL, he's mindful of playing like he would if he was wearing the Bombers' jumper.

Tactically, too, Bellchambers has progressed. At contests he's being more physical with his body but softer with his hands - a balance young ruckmen sometimes find hard to master.

He's also benefiting from spending some time with the forwards over pre-season, and feels more confident attacking the ball around the ground. Being forced to chase the ball in the forward line has been good for his rucking, and with every game he seems to be making more of an impact up the field.

So far it's working. He's averaging more disposals and hit-outs than at any stage in his career, and is fourth in the AFL for percentage of ruck contests won this year at 52.4 per cent. Only Fremantle's Aaron Sandilands, Carlton's Shaun Hampson and Ryder sit ahead of him.

Stringing games together, Bellchambers says, is the key.

"The more games I play and time I spend with the midfielders, the more it will gel and the more it's going to work," Bellchambers said.

Callum Twomey is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter at @AFL_CalTwomey.