WITH one minute and 20 seconds left on the clock last Sunday, Essendon trailed Hawthorn by four points.

Bombers ruckman Tom Bellchambers didn't need reminding the next centre clearance was crucial.

After gathering the midfielders together, the group decided where they wanted Bellchambers to palm the ball.

"Then the onus was on me to get it there," he said.

The umpire's bounce favoured Bellchambers, and the 25-year-old charged at Hawks big man Jonathon Ceglar.

There was a scramble, the ball ended in Jake Melksham's hands and all of a sudden Cale Hooker had kicked Essendon's match-winning goal.

If that centre clearance had gone Hawthorn's way, it would have been all but over.

Form first, then contract for big Bomber

"In the dying moments of the game your teammates really rely on you as the ruckman to put the ball there and give us a chance as a team of getting it going," Bellchambers told AFL.com.au.

"The pressure is on you, but I enjoy that. You really don't want to let your teammates down."

It's lucky Bellchambers isn't fazed by the expectation, because he will shoulder plenty of hopes this year as the club's No.1 ruckman after Paddy Ryder's departure last year.

Now into his eighth season with the club, Bellchambers has taken the mantle and responsibility of leading the ruck after several years working in partnerships.

At times, he was one of three rucks in Essendon's first-choice team. 

"Paddy's obviously got his own reasons for leaving which I don't need to go into, but in terms of me it's a massive opportunity to really nail that No.1 ruck spot," he said.

"That's obviously what I've been after, and I think I've done my apprenticeship now.

"I'm really pleased with the position I'm at and where the club's going so it's an exciting time for me. I wish Paddy all the best, I don't hold anything against him for leaving the footy club."

Being a full-time ruckman will help Bellchambers.

Next to former Essendon ruckman David Hille and Ryder, Bellchambers would split his time between being a back-up ruck and a pinch-hitting forward.

At times the mix worked well, and in 2013 he kicked 28 goals as a more permanent inside-50 option.

But knowing his magnet will stay in the ruck's spot on coach James Hird's whiteboard gives Bellchambers confidence.

"It's great for me to have that continuity in the one spot," said Bellchambers, who becomes a restricted free agent at the end of this year.

"That will really help me and you can really concentrate on the opposition ruckman, what they do, their strengths and weaknesses, and where you can beat them. That's exciting for me."

He still expects to float forward at times – and he kicked a valuable goal against the Hawks last Sunday – but thinks if he gets a chance to rest, he'll be heading to the bench.

"Maybe towards the end of the season I might spend a bit more time forward but until then I'll spend a majority of time in the ruck and I'm pretty happy with that," he said.

Bellchambers is pleased just to be out there.

His 2014 campaign was ruined by an ankle injury in the pre-season, which required a reconstruction. He returned by mid-season, pulled up sore, had a few weeks off and then came back again, but he never reached his best physically.

"Looking back, I might've done things a bit differently and waited a bit longer but it is what it is," he said.

"I tried to push through it which was pretty stupid in the end. I didn't get back to any kind of form last year or any kind of fitness that would enable me to play AFL football week in week out."

After playing in the club's elimination final defeat to North Melbourne, Bellchambers had follow-up surgery on the ankle in September.

He didn't miss much of the Bombers' pre-season, important given he believes he needs to do the bulk of summer training to build his fitness base. 

The first two weeks of the season have shown Bellchambers why that's so vital: he has tired towards the end of both games, and needed forwards Joe Daniher and Patrick Ambrose to chip in while he's having a break.

Bellchambers knows with a little more match conditioning, having been one of the 2012-listed players to sit out the NAB Challenge, he'll be better equipped to run out games as the sole ruck.

He has noticed the difference around the club since the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal's verdict went the players' way on March 31. After two years of torment, the win over the Hawks came without any adjoining dark cloud.   

"It's just refreshing to not have to think about that kind of thing, not have to go to meetings and worry about those things, and just concentrate on football which has probably been the most pleasing thing. It's great to make that our sole focus now," he said.

"We've had some pretty good wins over the last couple of years when we've had our backs against the wall and it's been a difficult period. But that one did feel like we really deserved and earned it."

The next challenge waits at the MCG on Saturday, when Essendon meets an underperforming Carlton. The Bombers have often lifted against big opponents and battled in games they are expected to win over the last few seasons, and don't want any lapses this weekend. 

"We can't take the foot off the accelerator at all. If we play our game style that we have the last two weeks then we're going to be really confident we can get the win," Bellchambers said.

"But it's AFL and there's centimetres between winning and losing these days. If we go in with our foot off the gas it's not going to help us at all."