Rebounding Richmond defender Bachar Houli is convinced he can take his game to another level in 2016.

That’s certainly good news for the Tigers because Houli had a more than reasonable 2015 season.

He played all 23 games of Richmond’s games, averaging 22.2 disposals per match (the equal most in a season during his five-year career at Tigerland) and was ranked second in the competition for total rebound-50s.

The run-and-carry he provided out of defence was a pivotal factor in the Tigers making it through to a third consecutive finals campaign.

“If you speak to the coaches and guys in the football department they would say arguably it’s been my best season.  But I think that I’ve still got so much more to offer, to be quite honest,” Houli told ‘Roar Vision’.

“I was frustrated early on . . . I was up and down. 

“Being in a position I am now – nine seasons in the game – my expectation goes up.  So, when I’m playing an average game, to someone else it could be a good game . . .

“That’s great because the expectation is high, and I’ll continue to live with that . . . it’s going to make me a better player moving forward.”

Houli, however, feels that he continued to make significant advancements in the defensive side of his game throughout the 2015 season.

“I think I’ve come a long way this year . . . I continue to improve as a defensive player,” he said.

“You walk into this game with so much talent offensively, and you can do some damage moving forward. 

“But the challenge, being the offensive player, is to transition that sort of game style to a defensive player. 

“I think I’ve grown a lot playing the half-back role, not only hopefully driving the ball forward, but also just shutting down my man when I have to.  And, I think I’ve found a great balance, which is great.

“I’ll look forward to continuing that moving forward . . . getting tackles up and spoiling strongly from behind . . .”

Houli also has his sights set on spending some more time up the ground in 2016, which will be his 10^th season of AFL football.

“I’d like to see myself moving onto the wing and half-forward,” he said.

“I played a small piece of the game against the Kangaroos in Round 23 and a little bit of the (elimination) final there and showed that I can provide defensive pressure.   And, I’ve also kicked a goal or two and set up a goal or two. 

“So I’m looking for that flexibility . . .

“Across pre-season, I’ll look to play that role and train that role . . .

“Hopefully, if I’m told to move forward, I can go and fulfil my role in the position.”