Canterbury Bulldogs skipper Michael Ennis is starting to think of the legacy he will leave the game Canterbury captain Michael Ennis feels his best football is still to come. MICHAEL Ennis makes no excuses for the way he has played the game over the years - but admits he is starting to think about how he will be remembered. Asked yesterday if he was as big a niggler now as in the past, Ennis offered: "I don't think so. I just think it's like another year wiser in terms of the captaincy and I probably turned a corner midway through last year. I think I was always an easy target for criticism because I play that aggressive up-tempo, competitive style of football. But as you get older you find different ways to go about things. I have always said I am comfortable with how I play the game and the person I am away from football, and that hasn't changed, but I think I have matured and learnt about leadership. And I guess I do think about where I want to head and how I want to be seen when footy is finished. Not that Ennis is contemplating the end just yet. First up, he has tomorrow's blockbuster against the Rabbitohs to deal with - and down the track he wouldn't mind fighting his way back into the rep football mix. With all the success the Bulldogs had last year it's easy to forget what a struggle the start of the season was for the Dogs skipper. He missed pre-season because of a knee injury and then had to deal with losing his NSW hooking job to Robbie Farah after he was forced out of City-Country. "I had a bit of bone removed out of my knee and it was supposed to be a minor thing," he said. Two weeks after I had it done I had a hiccup where it blew up on me and it took a good eight to 12 weeks after that to settle down, and from there on it was tough going. Adding to his discomfort was the fact he was also adjusting his game to suit Des Hasler's coaching style. Michael Ennis makes no apologies for playing aggressive up-tempo football. That, combined with his bung knee, meant his running game basically went out the window. But the changes have made him a more complete footballer - and with a full pre-season he reckons his best football is still ahead. "While people were doubting what I was doing on the field externally they didn't know what Des was asking me of my role in the footy team and that changed a lot from what the player I was before Des came," he said. There is a structure that goes with playing with different coaches and my role changed a lot when Des came. Basically, we had a structured game plan and my job was to get the team into certain spots on the field at certain times and making sure I nailed that every week rather than just having that free running game which was probably one of my strengths earlier on. In saying that I think I evolved in a lot of other areas last year and Des certainly showed me that at the back end of the year with some of the statistics that he's got. This year, with that full pre-season behind me and with the structure we have, I'm also finding different ways to bring my running game back and I'm starting to enjoy it.