ONE DAY, Oliver Wines wants to be looked up to by others in the same way he admires Gary Ablett and Chris Judd.

Given the football he's already produced in his first 13 games, that day could come sooner than he might think.

Wines received a nomination for this year's NAB AFL Rising Star in his debut game, a 24-possession effort against Melbourne in round one.

Last weekend against Collingwood, he collected 26 disposals in three quarters, 16 of which came in the final term.

He told AFL.com.au that last term was the best quarter of football he'd ever played.

The Echuca 18-year-old's continued rise to stardom has been swift, and even quicker still for taking place in the 'fishbowl' of Adelaide.

The number of fresh wine-inspired puns is diminishing rapidly and there's a lot of excitement surrounding a young man who's only just notched half a season at the elite level.

While his teammates at Port Adelaide help keep him grounded with the expected banter, Wines said the only way to handle the hype was to work through it.

"In a two-team town like Adelaide there's a lot of hype, especially when you're winning, but you've just got to keep working hard and aspire to be the best you can be," he said.

"You see these other players like Gary Ablett and Chris Judd - all the awesome things they're doing  - and you just think 'one day I want to be like them'."

Wines admitted it was an awkward feeling to stand next to his heroes at a centre bounce.

Throughout his entire junior career, he played against guys on his own level. It was a fair fight.

How could he compete against people he'd put on a pedestal?

Power coach Ken Hinkley offered Wines sound guidance. As an assistant coach at Gold Coast, he'd helped a number of youngsters through exactly the same thought process.

"I've grown up admiring a lot of these clubs and their players – I'm going up against guys I worshipped as a kid," he said.

"I probably struggled with the confidence that I could go with them, especially the early half of the season.

"I spoke to a few people, 'Kenny' was one of them, and from his background coming from a young team like Gold Coast he gave me some really good advice.

"He just said I had to take it up to them and not step down, just believe that you can take them on."

It's obvious Wines hasn't been caught up in football's fluff. He's a serious talent, but he's not underestimating the distance left in his journey.

Over the club's bye he worked closely with Power assistant coach and former Adelaide champion Tyson Edwards on his clearance work.

"I was conceding a lot of centre clearances," he said.

"I've been doing a lot of body-work training to try and improve there and going over tape to work out where I am, compared to my opponent."

And although he wasn't a part of the Power's miserable 2011 and 2012 campaigns, Wines has bought right into the club's "win back credibility" rhetoric.

It's credibility that he played no part in diminshing but he's determined to play a significant role in restoring it to the club that he now calls home.

Harry Thring is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Harry