Mitch Brown had a taste of the Essendon game style in 2015 and expects the side to be more attacking this season.

The former Cat played with the Bombers throughout last season’s NAB Challenge.

His performances impressed recruiters across the competition and he continued his good form when he returned to VFL side Sandringham.

At the National Draft, Brown thought he may be heading west, but Essendon called his name with the 54^th pick overall.

“I thought that NAB Cup period was a great opportunity for all us top-up players to show the recruiters that we can still play at that level,” Brown told RSN.

“That definitely game me a lot of confidence going in to the season with Sandringham.”

The 25 year old spent time at both ends of the ground with Sandringham and even had a month long stint on the wing.

Since commencing pre-season training with Essendon under new Coach John Worsfold, Brown has been working with the defensive group.

“He’s (Worsfold) been fantastic - he’s set high standards that he wants the group to perform and train at, so he’s really driving that at the moment,” Brown said. 

“We want to be more attacking so we want to score a lot more so that’s the main thing that I’ve noticed. 

“Everyone is driven to perform really well this year because they had a pretty average year last year.

“The training has been fantastic – it’s been at a really high intensity, so I think we’re ready for a big year.”

Jobe Watson will be leading the side out again in 2016, after the club confirmed last week he would Captain the team for a seventh straight season.

“The whole playing group was really keen for him to Captain again,” Brown said. 

"What I love about him is his care for the playing group – you can just tell how much he cares for the players. 

“He’s going to be fantastic for us again.”

Brown played 15 games for the Cats after making his debut in 2011.