FREMANTLE has produced its second NAB AFL Rising Star nominee of the season, with speedy midfielder Garrick Ibbotson picking up the round nine honours.

Ibbotson, 20, has been on the club's list since being selected with pick No. 26 overall in the 2005 NAB AFL Draft, and has played seven games since making his debut last year.

Recruited as a "project player", the young Western Australian said it has not been frustrating waiting until now for consistent opportunities, as he is the first to admit he needed to learn more about the game before cracking into the senior side.

"When I got drafted, the club said from the start that my first few years were all about development, and they had no intentions of me playing senior football because I was only 17 and hadn't played much," Ibbotson told afl.com.au.

"They said to just work on my development and keep improving, and when the time was right, I'd play."

The young midfielder didn't start playing Australian Rules football until his early teens, after dabbling with another sport of the round-ball variety.

"I started playing when I was about 14, and I played soccer for seven years before that," he said.

"In my first year of footy, I was actually playing soccer at the time and midway through the year I got asked to come and fill in for a mate's football team.

"From there, I played that game and then I played the rest of the year. The next year I gave up soccer and started playing footy.

"I didn't really have any intentions of changing sports at the start, but once I started playing football with the team, and I've always kicked footballs in the backyard and stuff, I just hadn't played with an actual team, I didn't really want to stop."

Ibbotson played for East Fremantle for the majority of the past two seasons, and believes he is still becoming accustomed to the "bigger bodies" and fitness standards of senior football.

"From where I used to play, everything has just gone up a level," he said.

"So, everything that I do, I have to get better at as well, and I think I have to still keep getting better in order to play good football consistently."

The flashy ball-winner, who has been among the club's best in recent weeks and was the side's primary possession getter with 21 touches during Saturday's loss to Carlton, believes his best game for the year came in round six against Geelong.

However, he considers himself to have gained more from his most recent experience, given it occurred on the road.

"It's always different to try and play away from home," he said.

"If you can play a good game travelling, it can go a long way towards your experience and learning how to do it better next time."

Ibbotson named Ryan Crowley and Byron Schammer as his close friends at the club, and Shaun McManus and Matthew Carr as the players that have had the most influence on his career so far.

He also said his friendship with fellow East Fremantle representative Rhys Palmer, who was nominated for the award in round three, contains a healthy level of competitiveness.

"I think we're competitive [with each other] because that's what we do; we play a competitive sport and we want to win," he said.

"It's good that we're both playing football and it's good for us to be in the same team. We can travel together and look towards each other for help whenever we need to.

"Our competitiveness is good for our development."

He joins Bachar Houli (Essendon), Josh Hill (Western Bulldogs), Kieren Jack (Sydney), Ben McKinley (West Coast), Cyril Rioli (Hawthorn), Austin Wonaeamirri (Melbourne), Kurt Tippett (Adelaide) and teammate Palmer as contenders for this year's prize.