North draftee Sam Durdin says he is feeling more comfortable playing in the backline after having experienced life as a key forward.

The 18-year-old, who was recruited with pick No.16 in last year’s national draft, spent much of the pre-season with the forward group, working under the tutelage of Drew Petrie, Jarrad Waite and Ben Brown.

Although Durdin has the ability to perform roles at both ends of the ground, he said he has felt more at ease in defence in recent weeks.

"Most of pre-season, I’ve been playing as a key forward and I had to come up against Robbie Tarrant, Scott Thompson and ‘Tippo’ (Joel Tippett) – that was pretty hard when I first got to the club," Durdin told NMFC.com.au.

"I struggled the first couple of weeks playing up forward, but eventually I got to move down back and played as a key defender where I feel a little bit more comfortable."

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Durdin has featured in all four games for VFL affiliate North Ballarat so far this season, playing the first two matches in attack before switching to the opposite end in the Roosters’ last two outings.

The 198cm big man matched up on Richmond-listed forward Liam McBean in North Ballarat’s 82-point loss to the Tigers last Saturday.

"(McBean’s) a quality player in the VFL and I knew for a 202cm bloke he moves really well," Durdin said.

"He ended up kicking five (goals) on me which wasn’t great; he was a very good challenge for me.

"If I want to step it up to the next level, I’ve got to make sure that I can beat my opponent like that and try and move off him a bit."

The young South Australian said his next challenge is to develop his upper body strength to be able to handle the challenges of lining up on key position players.

"When I moved down back, they were trying to focus me more on bigger bodies as well (and) trying to see how I go there," Durdin said.

"It’s pretty hard when I’m quite undersized but hopefully over the coming months and years I can develop my body and get myself right."

Durdin said he has had a tough introduction since entering the AFL system from under-18 level, but has his sights firmly set on establishing himself as a tall target for the Roos.

"Before being on the list, I knew that the life of an AFL footballer would be pretty tough; you don’t actually realise it until you experience it," he said.

"I’m quite enjoying being here at the Kangas pursuing my dreams of playing AFL so I wouldn’t change it for anything else."