SOMETIMES he can be exciting, sometimes he can be frustrating, but James Polkinghorne is one man the Brisbane Lions are hoping can lead them into the future.

Polkinghorne plays his 50th match against Carlton on Sunday and said the more he plays at senior level, the more confident he gets.

Spectators, coaching staff and teammates have all caught glimpses of the 22-year-old's skill and strength over his first four seasons and it's something he hopes to show more consistently.

One instance that showed Polkinghorne's boundless talent was in the Lions' 2009 elimination final victory against Carlton, where he ran straight through Chris Judd to win a centre clearance deep in the final quarter when the match was up for grabs.

It's that type of intensity that excites fans.

"With experience and playing more games, week by week, you get that confidence about playing and it's a massive thing," he said.

"There's some great players in the midfield and you have to learn the trade and the techniques and that's something I'm trying to bring into my game as well.

"Last year I had a lot of injury troubles, things that would keep me out for a couple of weeks here and there, and couldn't [build] any continuity together. I tried to finish off last season and then come in with a strong pre-season."

Polkinghorne has played in nine of the Lions 10 matches this season and has topped 20 disposals in the past three, a sign that consistency is coming.

He said with a young core that also included the likes of Daniel Rich, Tom Rockliff, Jack Redden and Matthew Leuenberger, he was excited about the club's future.

"I think there's motivation and excitement there for us guys coming through," he said.

"We've come through at the same time so we've embraced each other and at training we're driving to form a good strong group and that's something we're excited by."

Polkinghorne said one of the strengths of the Lions was their unity and he expected a vastly improved showing against the Blues on Sunday from the one they dished up against the Swans last weekend.

"I think all the players understood what performance we put out there and we knew that wasn't acceptable. Moving on straight after the game is a great learning experience, so you dust yourself off and get stuck into the week and train hard."