THE WESTERN Bulldogs have received their second NAB AFL Rising Star nomination of 2007, with defender Tom Williams earning the honour for round 18.
Williams joins fellow Bulldog Shaun Higgins as the club's first eligible players since Will Minson and Ryan Griffen were nominated in 2005.
A 21-year-old former rugby player, Williams picked up 18 disposals against the Saints on Friday night and took 12 marks in his ninth senior game.
"I was surprised, because I thought Andrejs [Everitt] would get one before I would," he told afl.com.au.
"I was really surprised. It's obviously an honour.
"I wouldn't say it was my best game, but maybe my best half. My second half was okay, although I don't really rate any of my games, so I wouldn't know which one was my best one. But 'Rocket' said he was pretty happy with my second half, so I'll just take that."
Williams, who played his first game of Australian football the year he was drafted, has been in excellent form over the past month, after finally making his debut in round four following two injury-plagued seasons on the Dogs' list
His first match against the Tigers "wasn't ideal", as he had only two kicks for the game, but time in the VFL has since boosted his confidence.
"I didn't think it was that big a difference between the AFL and VFL and it wasn't as if I felt out of my league; I'd always get within five metres of the ball but wouldn't get the ball," he said.
"Coupled with that, I wasn't on [the ground] very often.
"Having guys like 'Granty' (Chris Grant) and 'Darce' (Luke Darcy) around helped a lot, because they like to pass on their experience. I think I've taken that in, and that's probably the only reason I can explain [my improvement]."
Williams was taken with pick No.6 overall in the 2004 NAB AFL Draft, but injured his foot playing in the VFL in in round 10 of his first season.
The same foot injury – a broken navicular bone – recurred the following year, and Williams did not play at all in 2006.
Williams played rugby until he was 18, under the influence of his father Steve, who co-founded the Brisbane Broncos.
He became involved in AFL through a talent identification program that targets young athletes and was so promising that he was shipped off to the Australian Institute of Sport before he'd even played a game.
"It was sort of all a quick rise," he said.
"I rolled the dice, and it all seemed to pay off. I was always the designated kicker in my rugby team, so I knew how to kick before I came to AFL, but kicking a hard, leather ball is different to kicking a soft, rubber one.
"I had a bit of work to do, and I still think I do."
The other nominees for the 2007 NAB AFL Rising Star are: 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), Mitch Clark (Brisbane Lions), Bryce Gibbs (Carlton), Shannon Hurn (West Coast), Robbie Gray (Port Adelaide), Marty Clarke (Collingwood), Scott McMahon (Kangaroos), Justin Westhoff (Port Adelaide), Sam Gilbert (St Kilda), and Nathan Jones (Melbourne).
