International rookie Eric Wallace says he remains confident in his ability despite his in-form teammates Majak Daw and Daniel Currie making his task of climbing up the ranks tougher.

The 26-year-old American, who spent the past two seasons with VFL affiliate North Ballarat, made the switch to the Roos' other affiliate Werribee at the start of the year.

Wallace has taken part in the Tigers' development league squad so far this season and has played in the ruck and forward line.

"I'm adding layers to my game as far as marking and playing forward and getting some versatility into my game," Wallace told NMFC.com.au on Tuesday.

"I'm getting better with my marking, following the ball and (learning) how the ball flies in the air."

Wallace's pre-season campaign was interrupted by a shin and calf injury that restricted his progress for about six weeks.

After slowly easing back into training and competitive matches, he has been able to take part in full games with Werribee's development team for the past month.

Another challenge facing Wallace is the rising competition among North's big man stocks, especially with his Werribee teammates Daw and Currie.

"At the very top you've got 'Goldy' (Todd Goldstein) playing phenomenally well and then Ben Brown playing really good footy for North," he said.

"Then you've got 'Maj' (Daw) and 'Cuz' (Currie) right at their heels with their similar type games.

"It makes it tough for me because I am fighting my way through the Werribee ranks."

Although the 198cm big man would be forgiven for thinking about the huge hurdle he has to climb, he said Daw and Currie have fast-tracked his own personal growth.

"It's helping my development watching those guys, seeing what they do and moulding what I do after them," he said.

"The good thing is you have a clear understanding of what Majak and Daniel do and you can say, 'How about if I mould my game after this to help me?'"

Senior development coach Gavin Brown said he's been impressed with Wallace's work ethic despite his prolonged stint on the injury list.

"We went through some things on the vision about where he needs to continually keep growing … When he goes forward, he's just starting to take a couple of marks now," Brown said.

"In the ruck, he needs to lay a tackle, lay a block, get the ball and he's doing it. He's getting ticks (but) now that needs to (be) over a full four quarters.

"I like the fact that he's getting urgent and he's getting eager."

Wallace said he hasn't ruled out fulfilling a position in defensive 50 to complement his roles in the ruck and up forward.

"Ever since I got here, I always joked about saying I'll play anywhere – if it's mid, back or forward, I'll play it," he said.

"I actually got a run during the Roos' main training last week as a key defender and I didn’t look too out of place back there."

Brown said a defensive role could be an option for Wallace in the coming months.

"We'd be reluctant right now to pull the trigger on that one because he is slowly heading in the right direction (in his ruck and forward positions)," Brown said.

"He did some really nice things at game sense (training) as a key back … It's a good point he brings up.

"We're not quite halfway through the year now and if he plateaus a little bit then that's certainly an opportunity because athletically, he's got the capability."

After experiencing senior football at VFL level last season, Wallace said his only short-term goal is to "crack into the seniors" for Werribee.

"He actually asked me last week what it looks like to play a VFL senior game, so he's thinking he's now ready; he wants to step up," Brown said.

Wallace, whose contract with the Roos expires at season's end, said he wouldn't let any uncertainty surrounding his future impact his mindset and objectives.

"It puts a lot of pressure but you can look at it in two ways," he said.

"You can say, 'It's a lot of pressure' and start to second-guess yourself or you can say, 'It's a lot of pressure but I'm just going to play the best I can every game and give it everything I got'.

"If you play like that, I'm pretty sure coaches and teammates notice that you're putting in what you need to."

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