NAB AFL Rising Star: round 19

ANOTHER Carlton youngster has emphasised his potential as a future champion,  with Shaun Grigg winning the round 19 nomination for the NAB AFL Rising Star award.

Grigg, 20, was playing in his 22nd game on Saturday against Port Adelaide and was one of the Carlton’s best in the 66-point win at Telstra Dome.

"It's good to get some recognition after all the hard work, but I just do it so I can play footy, not to win awards like this," Grigg told afl.com.au.

"It was my best game on Saturday, and I think the more you play in the seniors, the more you believe that you can play at that level.

"I've felt more comfortable there in the past few weeks, and I've just played."

The youngster from Ballarat played five senior games in his first season at the club last year after a shoulder operation put him out of action early on.

However, on the back of a handful of positive showings in the second half of the season, Grigg applied himself over summer and set himself for a big 2008.

"I had a big pre-season and I just wanted to get my body right and do everything right in the eyes of the coaches," he said.

"My goal was to play round one this year, and I achieved that. Now I've missed just two games.”

Grigg, a former Essendon supporter, said his weights partner Nick Stevens had helped him immensely this season as both a training motivator and mentor.

He also said his friendship with fellow young stars Marc Murphy, Bryce Gibbs and Matthew Kreuzer had eradicated any pressure associated with being constantly labelled as the collective future of the club.

"I haven't felt the pressure because we're all pretty young and going through it together," he said.

"There's a lot to look forward to so hopefully we can keep improving.

"But, they take a lot of the spotlight, which I'm more than happy with.

"They're good and they're just young blokes like everyone else. We're all good mates and we'll develop together and look up to the older guys who are guiding us along nicely."

Grigg lives with teammate Michael Jamieson and the rookie-listed Sam Jacobs, which he says is "a lot of fun" and helpful as the young trio adjusts to life at an AFL club.

But he conceded there was a key element missing from their current living arrangement.

"We're on the hunt for a girlfriend so the cooking and cleaning gets done a bit better."

Grigg joins Bachar Houli (Essendon), Josh Hill (Western Bulldogs), Rhys Palmer (Fremantle), Kieren Jack (Sydney), Ben McKinley (West Coast), Cyril Rioli (Hawthorn), Austin Wonaeamirri (Melbourne), Kurt Tippett (Adelaide), Garrick Ibbotson (Fremantle), Nathan Brown (Collingwood), Matthew Kreuzer (Carlton), Trent Cotchin (Richmond), Jarryd Morton (Hawthorn), Colin Garland (Melbourne), Jack Riewoldt (Richmond), Kyle Reimers (Essendon), Brett Ebert (West Coast) and Gavin Urquhart (North Melbourne) as contenders for this year's prize.