Roarke Smith says his confidence is building ahead of his fifth season at the Western Bulldogs.

The defender signed a one-year contract extension this week to remain at Whitten Oval until at least the end of the 2019 season.

Smith played 10 games this year – a career high – after the 21-year-old had played just two matches over three seasons after suffering two ACL injuries

“Confidence is a big thing for me. The more games I’m playing, the more confident I’m going to become,” Smith said.

“I love playing off half back, it’s a great position.  I really want to build on my speed over the pre-season so I can come back a bit quicker and play like ‘JJ’ (Jason Johannisen) and ‘Lynchy’ (Brad Lynch).

“Wherever they want to play me, I’ll play there.”

Smith was involved in a car accident of the eve of Round 19 game against Port Adelaide, ending his eight-game playing stretch.

He returned in Round 20 and suffered a concussion against St Kilda, missing the next two matches, but played the final round of the home-and-away season against Richmond.

“The boys are showing some promising signs, especially ‘Lynchy’ for a young player (and) you’ve got Ed Richards and Aaron Naughton,” he said.

“To finish the year the way they did is really promising for the future.”