FREMANTLE assistant coach Chris Scott believes 2008 NAB AFL Rising Star Rhys Palmer has had the "best first year I've seen close up".

Scott praised the resilience of the young midfielder this season, particularly how he coped with growing attention from taggers while managing to lead Fremantle's possessions.

He added that the 19-year-old is capable of dealing with the increased focus that will result from becoming the 16th recipient of the coveted award on Wednesday.

"I haven't seen a young player come into the competition and be tagged from almost their third or fourth game," Scott said from the function.

"Chris Judd maybe, maybe Paul Hasleby back when he was getting a lot of the ball.

"For Rhys to assume the mantle of basically being the prime mover in our midfield and be really physically harassed by the opposition every week, and continue to put his head over the ball and always bounce back, was an indication we had someone special.

"As everyone knows, it's going to be more difficult for him next year, and he knows that as well as anyone.

"But we've got full confidence he's the type of person who will thrive in that environment."

Senior coach Mark Harvey echoed Scott's sentiments and said it was a pleasure to coach a player like Palmer, who has "worked his guts out" this year.

"Rhys' performances this season have done all the talking. He's been a delight to watch and, in his first year as an AFL footballer, he was a consistent and reliable playmaker," Harvey said.

"I have been continually impressed by the way Rhys goes about his football, he's had a great year and he deserves to be acknowledged for his break-out 2008 season.

"The character and maturity he has shown this season, on and off the field, is more than what we would come to expect from most 19-year-olds.

"Opposition teams obviously felt the same because in the second half of the season their best taggers were going to him to try to restrict his influence on matches.

"That is a massive badge of honour for any player, let alone a player who is in his first year of AFL football."

Scott said Palmer showed encouraging signs from the moment Fremantle selected him with pick seven in last year's NAB AFL Draft.

"We always had high hopes for Rhys, but we didn't want to put too much pressure on him, especially given the fact our recruiting staff rated him the best available player in the draft that year and we felt very fortunate to get him at pick seven," he said.

"It was publicised we decided not to play him in round one, but it was just a credit to Rhys that people who hadn't seen us play much in the pre-season felt that we should have been playing him right from the word go.

"Certainly he very quickly became our best midfielder, which is remarkable for a first-year player."

Scott, who won the award himself in 1994 when he was playing for the Brisbane Bears, conceded he would have been no match for Palmer, even at his best.

"I wouldn't have lasted half a quarter running against Rhys. I might have had to try a few other tactics against him that you probably can't get away with now."