HAWTHORN half forward Brendan Whitecross says he's harder at the football than when he started his AFL career, and is now looking to become a leader at the club.

The 22-year-old played his 50th AFL match in last year's preliminary final.

The loss to Collingwood was Whitecross' 20th straight game in the Hawks' senior line-up, showing the high regard he's held in at Waverley Park.

"Playing a lot of games consecutively last year definitely gave me a lot of confidence," Whitecross told hawthornfc.com.au ahead of Friday night's round one clash with the Magpies.

"I played 13 games in 2009 and 15 in 2010, but they were sort of broken up.

"Being able to play a lot of games in a row last year really helped my confidence, and I thought I played some of my better footy towards the end of the year."

During his time in the AFL system, Whitecross has learnt the importance of playing his role for the team.

"Squads win premierships," he said.

"What an individual can bring to the side is important, but if you just stick to your role and what the team wants of you, I think that's the biggest thing you can work on."

Whitecross believes he has developed a harder edge.

"Hardness at the footy is another big area that I've improved on," the former Queenslander said.

"That's certainly helped my footy over the last five years."

Now sure of his ability to compete at the top level, Whitecross is determined to develop as a leader at the Hawks.

"It's like any company or any business you're in - you start at the bottom and work your way up, and the further up the chain you get, the more confidence you have to speak up and things like that," he said.

"Last year was a big step forward for me in that area, obviously playing a lot of games helped.

"But this year I want to take it to another level and have a voice within the side."

Hawthorn is tipped as a major contender for this year's premiership, but Whitecross said the players' immediate focus would be on getting early wins and playing well enough to hold a place in Alastair Clarkson's team.

"Our focus at the moment is on round one and the first half of the year," he said.

"If we make it to the Grand Final then that's great, but there's a long way to go between now and then.

"It's going to be hard for spots early in the season, so I don't think anyone's thinking too far ahead.

"I think they're just trying to get their foot in the door and then hold their spot."

Brendan Whitecross is a $377,800 midfielder in Toyota AFL Dream Team. Register your team here.

Mark Macgugan covers Hawks news for AFL.com.au and hawthornfc.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_MarkM.

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL