THE WESTERN Bulldogs have produced their third NAB AFL Rising Star nominee in 12 months, with young forward Josh Hill taking the honours for round two.
Hill, 19, booted three goals against Melbourne on Saturday in what was just his third AFL game in his second season as a Bulldog.
"There are a lot of good players out there who have been nominated so it's a big thing for me," Hill told afl.com.au.
"But these two games this year don't mean anything. I haven't done anything yet.
"I'm loving footy this year, just with the family here and with the way I'm going."
Hill was drafted by the Bulldogs with selection No.61 in the 2006 NAB AFL Draft, and spent the majority of last season playing for Werribee.
He broke through for his debut match in round 17 last year, which he believes helped him focus on achieving the goal of playing more senior games this season.
"Getting that taste helped because then I knew what to expect when it came around again," he said.
"Playing against the Eagles after growing up watching them play was good, and they were a tough side last year, so it was a pretty big dream come true to be running around with them last year."
Despite the fact Hill has made a significant impact in his two senior appearances this year, the Western Australian is realistic about the need to keep improving in order to hold his spot.
"There's a lot more developing I need to do, and I need to work on my second and third efforts," he said.
"I need to get more weight on so I can take those tackles and hits, because I've still got a light frame, so there's a lot of stuff I need to do."
Hill credits Andrew McLeod and Peter Matera as two players who shaped his style as he was growing up. And last year he sought the advice of his cousin, former Eagle Ashley Sampi, ahead of his debut match.
"Ashley gave me a lot of phone calls as I was going through the week, to see how training was going and talking about being prepared," he said.
"I saw him a fair few times [in November last year] but not a great deal because he was pretty busy doing pre-season with Melbourne."
The defender-turned-forward said he had adjusted to life in Melbourne after a difficult start as he became accustomed to his family residing on the other side of the country.
But, with three of his relatives recently moving across from Western Australia, he believed his homesickness had become much easier to bear.
"It was hard at first because I left my family, but then they all moved over last year so that was a big relief for me," he said.
"My mum, my dad and my sister moved over, so it was a lot easier for me.
"I was living with Cameron Faulkner last year before they came over, and I live with my family now so it's good."
Hill becomes the third Bulldog in a year to be nominated for the award after teammates Shaun Higgins and Tom Williams in 2007.
He joins round one nomination, Essendon's Bachar Houli as the players in line to win the 2008 NAB AFL Rising Star.
Watch highlights of Josh Hill's performance against the Demons.
