Western Bulldogs midfielder Ryley Sanders is hopeful he can help drive the team forward alongside some of his young and emerging teammates. 

The 21-year-old, who put pen to paper on a new two-year contract on Friday, said seeing his fellow first-to-third year peers re-sign made him excited for the future. 

“There’s a really good feel around the Club, and I feel like we’ve got a really good balance at the moment between being serious when we’re playing and training, but then off-field having lots of fun too,” Sanders said.

“The relationships were the most important thing with me staying here - in terms of my teammates and (what) good people they all are, and then the coaches as well.

“Obviously we started the year super well, but it’s not just lots of older players playing. I think we’ve got seven of us younger DA (Development Academy) boys from first-to-third years, so it really excites me what we can potentially do over a longer period of time.

“Seeing a few of the younger boys around me like Joel (Freijah), Crofty (Jordan Croft) and Jaquesy (Lachie Jaques) also sign on – we want to be that group that can drive us forward in the future.”

Sanders said being able to learn his craft from the likes of Marcus Bontempelli was something he’ll look back on in years to come.

“I feel like as a footballer you don’t reflect too much (in the moment), but I’m sure when he eventually retires I’ll look back on him and be like ‘geez, I’m playing with probably the best player of my generation’,” Sanders said.

“I’m obviously a bit biased, but he’s the best player in the competition and has probably been that for the last little while, so learning off him everyday (is special). 

“I was in the leaders' meeting the other day, and just the way he goes about it is so impressive, but he's got a really good balance too of being also a good friend off field too.”

Sanders was also grateful for Adam Treloar’s influence on his career to date.

“I remember when I first got drafted, (Adam) was probably one of the few alongside Bont and Libba that took me under their wing,” he said.

“He’s obviously a superstar – I think he’s 12 years older than me so he’s been through the whole journey, and he’s said to me that he sees a lot of himself in me as a younger player. 

“Obviously I've lived with him and Kim and Georgie. How much balance that gave me off-field - he's helped me massively on-field, off-field and everything. 

“To have success with everyone, but especially someone like him, motivates me a lot to potentially win a premiership, hopefully one day with him. I just can't thank him enough."