NAB AFL Rising Star: round 10

BOOM Carlton recruit Bryce Gibbs has capped off an impressive start to his career by earning the round 10 nomination for the NAB AFL Rising Star.

Gibbs becomes the eighth consecutive No.1 draft selection to be nominated for the award, and is following in the footsteps of teammate and 2005 top recruit Marc Murphy.

"I was surprised, but it was a good feeling," Gibbs told afl.com.au, after being informed of the nomination.

"Only 22 guys can get it in the year, so I was pretty excited when I was told.

"It's a bit of an honour as well. Some of the blokes who have been nominated have been really good players."

Gibbs picked up 17 disposals in the Blues' win over the Western Bulldogs on Sunday, and has averaged over 13 touches in his first 10 matches.

He isn't positive Sunday was his best game on a personal front, but he does believe the chance to play defence in recent weeks has accelerated his growth as a player.

"I thought I played alright. I didn't think I did anything too special, but I think I'm slowly getting better each week," he said.

"It's taken me a few games to get used to the pace of the game, but I've found that I've settled down now.

"I'm playing down back a lot. I've slowly been introduced into it, and I confident I've found my feet now."

Gibbs was named in the club's leadership group in the pre-season – before he had even made his senior debut – and said he was "surprised" his appointment happened so fast.

Before coming to Carlton, Gibbs had been playing against men for two years in the seniors at Glenelg, and sparked heated discussions last season regarding the controversial father-son ruling that kept him from automatically becoming a Crow.

The 18-year-old admits he misses his hometown of Adelaide, but being able to live with a host family has kept his homesickness moderately at bay.

"I have been missing home a bit. I speak to mum pretty much every day. She checks up on me and sees how I'm going," he said.

"I am missing everyone back there, but hopefully I can get back home and see everyone soon."

Gibbs joins Paddy Ryder (Essendon), Cameron Wood (Brisbane Lions), Tom Hawkins (Geelong), Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood), Joel Selwood (Geelong), Ricky Petterd (Melbourne), Jess Smith (Kangaroos), Shaun Higgins (Western Bulldogs) and Mitch Clark (Brisbane Lions) as players to be nominated for the award so far this season.