Todd Goldstein isn’t letting individual numbers define his effect on the Bombers this year.

The 323-game veteran prefers to use the output of his midfield group as a fairer reflection of his impact on games, with the Bombers currently ranked third in the competition for total clearances.

Essendon are also ranked second-best in the AFL for conceded hitouts, reflective of Goldstein’s ability to negate his opposing rucks and give his on-ballers first use this season.

With the midfield unit in a strong run of form, Goldstein was quick to heap praise on a burgeoning young star wearing his old guernsey number on SEN this week.

“I knew who (Sam Durham) was, because I was hoping to get No.22 and that was definitely taken by him,” Goldstein said.

“I don’t think I realised just how good of a player he was, you’d seen glimpses of it but he’s just gone to another level.

“I’m staggered with just how good and how competitive he is, and what a difference he’s made to the midfield group.”

Coming into a new squad at the age of 35 can be daunting, but the Bombers’ midfield leaders have been steadfast on integrating Goldstein into the group and getting the most out of his experience.

With Zach Merrett in inspired form this season (30 coaches’ votes from his past three games) and Darcy Parish finding his feet in his return from injury (36 disposals last week), Goldstein is loving what he’s seeing from the Bombers’ seasoned campaigners.

“There’s always a bit of apprehension when you come in with a completely new group, they’ve done what they do for a long time, so it is about trying to work your way in and fit in,” Goldstein said.

“I’m really lucky to have leaders like Darcy Parish and Zach Merrett in there that’ve really helped me and it makes my job a lot easier when I’ve just got to get it to that particular area and let them go to work.

“When you’ve got someone with the class of Zach and the way he’s started this season, it’s pretty phenomenal to watch."

The off-field figures at the Bombers have also played an integral role in maximising Goldstein’s production so far this year, with a balanced weekly regime holding the ruck in good mental and physical stead.

Assisted by a managed pre-season workload, Goldstein is feeling in good shape as his side approaches a key run of games leading into the season’s halfway mark.

“I’m feeling pretty good. It’s nice when we’re winning games and you can see the improvement each week, so it’s definitely helping mentally and physically,” Goldstein said.

“For me, early in the week’s more about the work I do on cross-training things like the pool or the bike, I don’t do as much running on Monday or Tuesday these days.

“It’s really about setting myself up for main skills sessions and that’s where it’s all culminating to get my work in for the week.

“I’ve found a pretty good rhythm over the last eight weeks, it’s worked pretty well and the club were good enough to give me only two out of three sessions during the pre-season which definitely helped my body.”

While Goldstein made history last week as the first player in VFL/AFL history to reach 10,000 hitouts, he’s happy to keep doing his job at stoppages and again keep the focus on helping his midfielders.

“For me it’s just about how our midfield group has worked as a whole. If we’re doing well in clearances and things like that, I feel I’ve done my job,” Goldstein said.

“I don’t really worry too much these days about how many hit-outs or how many possessions or anything like that, it’s really irrelevant to how the game goes.

“For me, it’s understanding the nuances of how clearances work. If your team has a really good game, you’re maybe winning (only) 60 per cent, and so every time I get a hitout it’s giving my mids maybe a 70 per cent chance of winning that clearance.

“I’ve been lucky enough to play with some incredible midfielders and giving those guys an extra 10-20 per cent chance of winning that clearance goes a long way. You can see how well this side’s been scoring from clearances and that’s what I rate myself on is just giving us the opportunity.”

Goldstein and the Dons are looking to improve to a five-game unbeaten run when they face GWS at Marvel Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Serving as the annual Challenge game, the fixture provides an opportunity for the club to raise awareness for children’s cancer and raise funds to support the families affected by it.

“It's a great opportunity for the footy club to give back to the families and kids that are dealing with cancer, it’s obviously a horrible disease and with kids myself, I can’t even imagine what these families are going through,” Goldstein said.

“For the (families and kids) to come down to the club this week, see the Hangar, watch training, paint the players’ boots, we’re really excited to be a part of it.”