When you spend your off-season training with Caleb Daniel, putting in extra one-on-one work with Marcus Bontempelli and having pre-season tussles with Aaron Naughton, it’s clear you’re not resting on your laurels from the season prior.

That’s what the break between the Western Bulldogs’ 2020 elimination final exit and 2021 season has looked like so far for Bailey Williams.

The 23-year-old enjoyed a career-best season last year.

Williams’ numbers suggest he was one of the competition’s most improved players.

One thing is for certain, he made a significant impact in the back line, complementing his great mate Daniel – who claimed his first Charles Sutton Medal – and fellow rebounding defenders Hayden Crozier and Jason Johannisen.

“I was happy to stamp my role and play every game, and I was happy to go as well as I did,” Williams told westernbulldogs.com.au.

“Now I’m just looking to keep improving.

“I’ve still got little things I want to work on, like my one-on-one stuff and those types of things. I’m working closely with Marcus and doing a few things after training to get better at that.

“There’s still some craft I want to get better at, and my one-on-one stuff… to try to use my speed and power a bit more, so every time I get the ball I’m looking to take off.”

Williams highlighted Naughton as one of his pre-season standouts – and said it was no easy task going toe-to-toe with him in match simulations.

“Big ‘Naughty’ threw me around the other day, which was a bit embarrassing for me,” he said with a laugh.

“He’s been joking around in the change rooms telling me to do my weights, so I need to start throwing him around.”

That relentless pursuit to get better on multiple fronts extends to the Bulldogs’ defensive group.

Williams believes there’s still plenty of growth to come there.

“As a back six, we need to keep better, keep trusting what we’re doing together, being reliable and more consistent,” he said.

“At match sim, we’re practicing those defensive efforts and winning the critical contests.”