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A GLANCE around the room at breakfast in Dublin is like watching an informal Brownlow telecast.
 
The game's biggest names sit, often alongside their partners, eating and chatting as the Virgin Australia International Rules Test at Croke Park draws closer.
 
Brisbane Lions skipper Tom Rockliff does not look out of place among them.
 
But the 25-year-old dual best-and-fairest winner with the country footballer's frame and public-bar drawl has a different sense of where he fits in the group.  
 
"It's a strange feeling over here. I'm captain back at the football club but over here I feel like I'm nearly a young fella and not really a leader at all," Rockliff told AFL.com.au.
 
It says something of the Lion's true personality and where he is in his career that he holds players such as Luke Hodge, Sam Mitchell, Robert Murphy and Nick Riewoldt in such high regard.
 
He's been drawn to Hodge, an uncomplicated country boy at heart too who has succeeded in the game without subjugating his true personality.
 
"I think he has got a really good balance between how to be serious and how to be a bloke…so I have really enjoyed watching the way he goes about it," Rockliff said.
 
More surprising in some ways is the fact the Australian players and team officials are drawn to Rockliff too, in a way he may or may not appreciate.
 
His laconic manner that breathes in what the tour has to offer has made him appear comfortable talking to anyone.

The Australians pose for a team photo at Croke Park. Picture: Getty Images

 
The fact he takes the game more seriously than himself and is a much smarter person than his public profile might suggest adds to that too.
 
It's a compelling mix of qualities to observe in Rockliff, particularly for someone who came under such public heat last season for his leadership style.
 
That the year was challenging for the skipper is beyond question, but it won't necessarily prove to be a negative in the long run.
 
"It was probably a defining year for the next couple of years," Rockliff said.
 
The rocky road he travelled as his name hit the headlines and he was forced to respond was difficult but ultimately fruitful.
 
"It was probably a good lesson for me in the way to approach that. I probably shouldn't have shot from the hip and gone about it the right way," Rockliff said.
 
"But I will always defend my footy club and what we stand for."
 
What the Lions stand for will become clearer in the next 12 months but at the moment one aspect is certain, Rockliff carries a big responsibility.
 
He is an inexperienced captain of the club that is seen as vulnerable in a tough market and he is aware of the perceptions that have arisen.  
 
"It is important that we are not the laughing stock of the competition and we continue to improve," Rockliff said.
 
Laughing stock is a difficult phrase for a competitor like Rockliff to use when referring to his own club but when recruit Allen Christensen told his new teammate last year the Cats pencilled in a win whenever they saw their name next to the Lions in the fixture, it stung.
 
"I take it pretty personally," Rockliff said.
 
"That really hit home and hurt a fair bit. If that doesn't sting, I don't know what does so … it is important that we change that so when teams see the Lions they think they are in for a bit of a fight today."
 
Fights are not what Rockliff wants. What he needs to be part of is a team that sets high standards and works together to achieve them.

Paddy Dangerfield training at Croke Park. Picture: Getty Images


"I think we need more of a buy in from our core and our senior group. If we set the standards really high then everyone starts to join in. I think the biggest thing for us is that our training standards slipped a little bit last year," Rockliff said.
 
"We are quite a young list so it comes down to the 24-25-year-olds to really set that standard now. The biggest thing is we have to mature a lot quicker than the rest of the competition."
 
That he is still learning how to communicate that message to the group is not something he argues about. He reflects on the year in a fashion that indicates both maturity and a positive mindset.
 
"I'll probably, obviously, approach it a little bit differently this season but I'll still expect a high standard from our group," Rockliff said.
 
Rockliff has tapped into his Australian teammates experiences on this trip, open to ideas and listening. He says absorbing outside knowledge is something he has identified as a way to improve.
 
"It's important to have outlets to talk to and I probably haven't had that in the last 12 months," Rockliff said.
 
With player retention such an issue for the Lions, Rockliff knows it is vital he drives a culture that celebrates difference within the team framework.
 
"[It's] important we give players an opportunity to be themselves but also buy into that team culture," Rockliff said.
 
Watching Hodge at work has given him an appreciation of how that might be done, an intrinsic value of the International Rules trip to the competition that will never show up on a balance sheet.
 
Rockliff has seen the level-headed approach the Hawthorn and Australian skipper has taken at all times, whether he is relaxing with teammates or assuming what comes with the responsibility of being named captain.
 
"It is always difficult to get that balance right but the opportunity to come away like this and spend time with guys like this gives me a good opportunity to take things back and identify ways we can do things better to improve, both as an individual and as a team," Rockliff said.
 
"I think you can always learn new things."
 
That's where Rockliff is at, a leader in the making.
 
Only a sculptor's artistry is needed to round him off.