HAWTHORN'S later start to its 2009 preparations might have resulted in a little bit of 'cramming' but premiership defender Stephen Gilham says he's still had plenty of time to work on further improving his game.

If there's one thing Gilham has learned from his six years in the AFL, it's to not take anything for granted.

"I'll never forget being called in for the meeting and being told, 'Look, you’ve done everything you can but there’s not a spot for you anymore'," he said of his time with Port Adelaide.

"You just hit rock bottom [when you’re told that]. I called my dad and he was on the other side of the phone in tears and that sort of thing. It was pretty emotional, having that ripped away from you.

"I came straight back to Melbourne and, when I got to Hawthorn, I settled in really well. Here we’ve had a pretty good success rate with rookies, so I knew that if I could do everything right then luck might turn my way."

Three years after Alastair Clarkson, formerly an assistant coach at the Power, threw him a lifeline in the rookie draft, the 24-year-old is still pinching himself over his role in the Hawks' flag triumph.

However, his close call with the football scrapheap reminds Gilham how important it is to keep raising the bar.

A key member of the side’s defensive make-up, he also knows he can't rest on any laurels.

Instead, Gilham heads to every session aiming to make himself a better footballer. With Brendan Fevola, Matthew Lloyd and Daniel Bradshaw as prospective opponents, he knows he has to step up.

"I’m doing a fair bit of one-on-one work with Peter Burge, who’s our strength and conditioning coach," he said.

"He’s been working on my speed with me and power sort of stuff in the gym as well as out on the ground, just trying to find a yard [of pace] here and there.

"For my position, chasing guys on leads and that type of thing, it might make a difference between me not getting there and me getting there and putting a spoil in, or being able to hold my ground, particularly with the guys who are bigger than me."

The last line of defence can be an unforgiving place at times, too. When a forward is red-hot, the heat pours on his opponent and Gilham aims to avoid that situation.

"It does make it hard when you’re on the key guy and they’re (the opposition) always looking for him," he said.

"But every team’s got a different guy with different attributes … I’ve got strengths and weaknesses just like those guys so I’ve got to identify those and work on them."

Being at a club that boasts the competition's most potent forward line is helping the quietly-spoken Gilham hone his craft.

Lance Franklin, Jarryd Roughead and Mark Williams provide good training duels for a defender looking to eliminate any perceived weaknesses.

"[Getting to play on] Roughy and Buddy (Franklin) and Mark Williams and guys like that at training, it’s pretty good spectrum of guys to practise with," Gilham said.

"Buddy obviously is more the complete package, Roughy’s a big guy who can stand there and push guys out of the way and Mark’s got the speed.

"We’ve got a range of guys and we’ve always got our hands full for when we do game simulation and breakdown drills of forwards on backs and all that sort of stuff, so it’s pretty good for us in that way."

And with a premiership medallion tucked away at home, some might be content to work on retaining their place in a team riding high.

But Gilham seems like a man hell-bent on making the most of every minute. Previous failures have taught him that time in this game can be short.

"I think I’ve sort of steadily improved," he said.

"There’s no way I’ve plateaued out yet. Hopefully there’s still lots more room for improvement."