West played just one game for the Cats in the AFL, but under the tutelage of Dale Amos in the VFL he played in a variety of positions, both forward and back.
As a result his game has become more rounded and he thinks a lot more about what he can do to help out the team.
"Last year opened up my eyes to a lot of other positions on the ground," he told geelongcats.com.au.
"Even when I go back to the ruck there's so many other things I think about now - getting back to help out the backs, sliding forward to maybe kick a goal or two, finding my opponent more quickly, things like that.
"It taught me a lot of different things, and it is good knowing how to play down there a bit more too."
Former Cats ruckman Shane Mumford has departed Geelong for the Sydney Swans, heading up their ruck division with former Eagle Mark Seaby, as the club looks to cover the loss of Darren Jolly to Collingwood, and that loss for the Cats makes life a little easier for West at Skilled Stadium.
West, who stands 198cm tall and weighs in at 102kg, said he still thought of himself as a ruckman, despite spending extended periods of time in 2009 playing in key positions at either end of the ground.
"If someone goes down during the game, then I can go down there and fill it in," West said.
The 22-year-old admitted he was disappointed to only get one senior game last year and took a while to get over it, but is now looking forward to 2010.
"I just wanted to have a good pre-season and hopefully have a couple of games in the NAB Cup, just to show that I'm ready to play again," West said.
"I've been trying to work on my strength, and my sharpness and skills - just all the little things, trying to get everything a bit sharper.
"I'm getting a little bit stronger in the gym, so it's going okay so far."
