When you’re trying to impress the coaches and make your mark, there’s no point leaving it too long. For Max Warren, he used Round 1 of the VFL season to make a statement.

The defender collected a career-high 32 disposals in North Ballarat’s loss to Collingwood on Saturday, playing as a spare in the back half.

“I think that’s my most possessions so far in my short career,” a humble Warren said after the match.

“I was just trying to play my role and work to the back of the stoppages and help out the boys as much as possible. We were trying to ensure there were no easy, over the back type goals.”

Taking advantage of some great team defence, the 21-year-old had 27 uncontested touches and admits to running harder than he ever has to find space.

“The pre-season has been important for me and I think I have developed a bit more of an engine which obviously helps a lot.

“It is encouraging I suppose. It was good for me today knowing that I can work that little bit harder.”

Taking no credit himself, Warren praised his teammates for their ability to bring the ball to ground.

“The boys fought really hard and did their job in the air so it gave me the opportunity to get the ball when it hit the deck.

“We were probably under-sized for most of the day with the likes of the ‘Big Q’ (Quinten Lynch) and (Lachlan) Keeffe roaming around.”

In particular, Warren says he admires the way Joel Tippett has gone about his business since coming to North from the SANFL.

“Tippo (Tippett) is a workhorse and in the one-on-one, contested situations, he rarely gets beaten. He doesn’t give his man anything and is always getting a fist in there and never seems to be out of the contest.

“The guys like Tippo did really well spoiling and making sure they couldn’t take many grabs.”

While the statistics read generally well for Warren, one area does stand out for the wrong reasons. A kicking efficiency of just 55 per cent something he says needs to be addressed.

“I had no trouble with that area of my game in the practice matches but today, being round one, with a bit of heat and pressure, I butchered a few kicks and turned it over a few times.

“It’s something I will work hard on before we play again that’s for sure.

“When something like that happens, you’ve just got to put it aside and know what the right kick is and which ones you should go for. If you’ve stuffed up a few, you just have to keep having a crack at them.”

It’s that attitude and persistence that shows Warren is definitely on the right path.