ROOKIE ruckman Billy Longer has a trio of teachers for his first AFL season that could not be more diverse.

The 18-year-old taken at No.8 by the Brisbane Lions in the NAB AFL Draft has adapted nicely to his first 10 weeks as a professional, with a trifecta of talls to thank.

Firstly, there's the club's number one ruckman, Matthew Leuenberger. After a breakout 2011 season, the quietly spoken 23-year-old is the prototype of the modern day ruck with his 204cm, 104kg frame able to cover enormous territory with his athleticism and running capacity.

Then there's former Adelaide and Western Bulldogs' hard man Ben Hudson, who at 32 prefers nothing more than using his 105kg body to wrestle opponents and physically intimidate them.

And finally there's Jamie Charman. At just 29, he was forced to retire last year following a horrid run with injuries but is now the Lions' ruck coach and still one of the club's biggest larrikins.

On the field Charman was athletic and rough. Off it, he loves nothing more than telling jokes and playing pranks.

Longer said it was an education he could not be happier with.

"Charmo is great, him here with the other two ruckmen, they're a great bunch and they're making it easy for me to accelerate the learning," Longer said.

"It's great to have that variety at training when you're competing against them.

"You've got big Hudson, and Leuey, who is much quicker and agile, so it's teaching you to play against the extremes in the AFL.

"I reckon I'm somewhere in between. I definitely don’t have the motor of Leuey or the strength of Ben just yet, I reckon I'll slot just somewhere in between them."

Longer lived with Leuenberger for his first month in Brisbane and the former Northern Knight said he had settled into his new city well.

"The pre-season has been great. We've got all the running in and now we're starting the game simulation stuff," he said.

"It's a big step going from TAC Cup straight up here but I'm loving it and it's going really well.

"It's massive, the workload is huge. People just assume you get there, train and go home, just like club level, but it's a full day thing and it's great to be part of it."

Hudson said he was extremely impressed by the 201cm, 101kg Longer.

"He's like a sponge, he's so eager to learn," Hudson said.

"And draftees these days are almost ready-made players. He's got broad shoulders and is such a good build already, I'm sure it won't take him long to fit in."

Longer said he was hopeful of playing in the NAB Cup, starting against Gold Coast and Melbourne on February 25, but had the bigger picture in mind.

"I'm trying to train for the future and not just training to play five or 10 games," he said.

"I want to prepare and do what's best so I can be a long-term player. If I get one game, if I play all the games, it's irrelevant, I want to make sure I do the right preparation for this year and all the years to come."

Sounds like the pupil is learning plenty from his teachers.

Michael Whiting covers Brisbane Lions news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @mike_whiting

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