Jayden Laverde is aiming to spend more time in the midfield during his second year at the club.

Taken with pick 20 in the 2014 AFL Draft, Laverde had a consistent end to his first year at the Bombers stringing together nine games in the back half of the season.

The 19-year-old impressed predominantly across the half-forward line, but is looking to use this pre-season to improve his endurance with the aim of hopefully moving into the midfield.

“Building on my fitness levels and being able to get more time through the midfield, which will help my footy immensely,” Laverde said.

“So just working on being able to survive longer in games.”

Laverde has had an interrupted start to his pre-season nursing a minor injury sustained during the season.

“It’s pretty frustrating knowing that the boys are doing a lot of hard work and I’m still doing a little bit of rehab running,” Laverde said.

“Hopefully I keep progressing and I’ll get back out there as soon as I can.”

As part of the second to fourth year playing group, Laverde enjoyed the week long trip to the Northern Territory.

The youngster saw it as an important step in building the bonds with a group that will hopefully form the backbone of the team for many years to come.

“It’s really good for us boys to come together and really setup a bond that we can really hold onto for the rest of the year,” Laverde said,

“It’s going to be harder this year, so we’re going to have to be a lot more resilient and get through this season together.”