A feature in North Ballarat’s back-line this year has been the brilliant form of Luke Delaney.

Now one of the VFL’s best key-defenders and knocking on the door of a senior spot, the 24-year-old has been an invaluable leader for some of his younger Kangaroos’ team-mates.

Mitch Wilkins and Max Warren are among those who’ve commented on how much Delaney has helped them structurally during games, and while the man himself is eager to be playing at AFL level, he’s embracing the chance to influence those around him.

“Once you’ve been in the system a few years it wouldn’t show much leadership if I hadn’t learnt anything and passed it onto the younger blokes who are coming through,” he told NMFC.com.au.

“Down in the back-line it’s generally a team within a team so you always have good camaraderie with the boys being together. You’re always helping each other out so it’s not so much one guy but more the six or seven of you on the day.”

Earlier in the year Delaney admitted his slow start was in part due to not playing his natural game and worrying too much about the setup of the side.

Finding a balance between the two has been an important step forward.

“I’m more confident in knowing the structures so I know what to do and then I can go back to playing instinct footy and beating my opponent which is the main thing.

“My main mindset is to play my role for the team, be defensive first and then worry about attacking once we’ve got the ball because that’s what I need to do.”

With seven appearances in the best from just 13 games, Delaney has been one of the Roosters’ most important players.

Part of his success can be attributed to significantly improving his work at ground level.

Standing at 194cm and 97kg he could be forgiven for being a little scratchy below his knees, but Delaney has regularly drawn praise from development coach Josh Drummond.

“Last year in some of his senior games he fumbled a bit and it’s something he wanted to work on,” Drummond said.

“It’s a credit to the work he’s put in that all year a theme of his games is that he’s been very clean below his knees at ground level. He’s been a real one-touch player which is important if he wants to go to the next level.”

Despite his improvement, the defender is modest when talking about the skill.

“Ground level play is always something I’ve had problems with in the past and it’s something I’ll have to work on for the rest of my career.

“It’s something that doesn’t quite come naturally and clean to me. If I don’t work on it consistently it’ll keep bobbing back up so it’s something I’ve tried to get more consistent at by working with the coaches.”

In his first year at the club, Drummond has been a sounding board for the older Delaney brother.

“Drummo’s been really good for me. He’s got a good understanding of the game, having only been out of it for about a year.

“He’s pretty good with the game-sense stuff and the smaller things you don’t normally get out of coaches. He’s great to have a chat to about anything or everything; it doesn’t necessarily have to be about footy.”

Undoubtedly the two would have discussed Delaney’s position as it relates to the senior side, but the number 15 is purely focused on doing what he does best.

“I can just play good footy at my end and keep putting my hand up.  Then when the opportunity arises, whether it is through form, suspension or injury, it’s all I can really do.

“If I do let myself get frustrated with those sorts of things I’ll stop concentrating on the task at hand and put myself out of contention through bad form anyway.”

Drummond believes it’s only a matter of time before Delaney gets his chance.

“His attitude has been terrific. He’s playing at a level that’s potentially good enough to be worthy at a higher level but that’s footy. He knows that he can control his performance and how he goes about training.”