AARON Joseph enjoyed a breakout season in 2009 and the hard-working tagger is determined to build on that success.

Joseph played all 23 matches for Carlton and impressed with his endurance, work ethic and even showed glimpses of a more offensive side to his game that he hopes to develop further this year.

The second-year rookie was duly rewarded with elevation to the senior list and a two-year deal that has made his life off the field a lot more comfortable, but Blues fans needn't worry that their tough-as-nails cult figure is going soft.

"You've got to keep touching base with where you came from," Joseph says. "As a rookie you're always going to have that hunger and what I've got to do now is keep bringing that every week.

"I can't go in with the attitude that I'm automatically in the starting 22 because we've got a lot of young blokes trying to do the same as I did.

"We've got these rookies coming through as well as the recent draftees all pushing for a spot and it forces the senior guys to train harder. I think that's how we're going to improve as a team."

The 20-year-old took on some of the biggest names in the game and lowered their colours with many pointing to his job on eventual Brownlow Medallist Gary Ablett in the NAB Cup as the turning point for Tasmanian.

He agrees that was a significant game for him, but maintains each match experience was just as important as the next.

"Every week I was playing on different sorts of players so I had to change what I was doing. If I had to pick a turning point for me I'd just have to say 'the whole year'," he says.

"To play every game was something that I thought was probably out of my reach realistically, but to be able to do that really helped me build confidence every week.

"I learned a lot from some of the guys I played on, but they would have learned a fair bit about the way I play them, so that's why I think this year will be harder for me."

The statistics will tell you that Joseph allowed his direct opponent to gather 20 or more possessions just seven times last year.

While that is a nice statistic on paper, Joseph says he is more interested in what happens on the field.

"I never really look at the stats and Ratts always says that the way the game is going everyone kicks backwards a lot so players are going to get their 30-plus touches," he says.

"We're not really looking at the stats so much as how effective [opposition players] are.

"I tend to let players that are stronger than me get the ball, but then it's about limiting their influence once they have it."

Joseph badly rolled his ankle in the final loss to the Brisbane Lions and would not have been available the next week had the Blues progressed. In fact, he spent the next six weeks rehabbing the joint while most of his teammates took a well-earned break.

But since then it's been smooth sailing and Joseph is well-placed to act on the advice he's received from the club's coaching staff.
 
"They've all told me that this is the year I've got to back it up," he says.

"I think if you're not set in the team you've got to take each game as it comes and just try to do your role the best you can. If I can do that more consistently I'll be happy."