Where did you grow up?
I lived in Alice Springs for a few years and then our family moved to a piece of land my grandfather owns about 25km outside of town. There was eight families living in their own houses on the land, so it was a really good environment to grow up in.

You played for North Adelaide in the SANFL. How did you end up there?
My brother Joel was taken by Melbourne in the 2004 rookie draft but was delisted at the end of that year. He came home and was then invited to North Adelaide so I just tagged along. I wasn't really asked down – I just went along with Joel, had a run with them for a week and it just went from there.

You were age 20 when you were rookie listed. Tell us about your draft experiences prior to being picked up by the Kangaroos in the 2006 rookie draft.
I nominated for the draft three years ago when I was playing under Darren Bewick in the under-18s side for the Northern Territory. I really wasn't sure whether I'd get drafted but I thought I'd nominate and see what happened. When you nominate, your name is in the system for three years. This was my last year, so I was hoping I'd get picked up.

Did you ever think your time might have passed you by?
When I wasn’t picked up in the national draft, I thought I might have missed my chance. But I was told by a lot of people that I was a big chance to be taken in the rookie draft. The Kangas took me at No.34, so it all worked out well in the end.

Did you have any impressions about what the Kangaroos were like as a club before you were drafted?
I suppose you think about Glenn Archer being the heart of the place. You come into the club and you meet Arch and he's just a terrific bloke. Or you talk to someone like Adam Simpson and he's a very approachable bloke – I'm sure not all captains spend as much time talking to the young players as he does. He has been very open to all of us younger blokes.

Is there anyone in particular who has looked after you since you've come to Arden St?
Eddie Sansbury has been really good in helping me settle in off the field. I have dinner with him pretty regularly. Shannon Grant and Brent Harvey have been pretty good on the footy side of things – looking after me, teaching me the ropes. Wellsy is another one who has spent a bit of time looking after me.

How are settling into Melbourne life?
The first week was obviously pretty tough but I reckon I'm settling in really well. I'm living with Benny Ross, Ben Hughes and Greg Ryan from the footy club at the club house (the Kangaroos have a house for the first-year players) and it's been really good. They've been good to live with.

Knowing that Leigh Harding was going to be out for a large portion of the year, was there a lot of competition among the rookies to be elevated to the senior list over the pre-season?
There's no doubt that all the rookies thought, 'Yeah, maybe I can get that spot' but it was never really spoken about. A few of the senior boys would rib us about who they thought might be on top from time-to-time, but there was no trying to take each other out at training or anything. In fact, the competition probably helped us all in the end.

It's history now that you were the first of the rookies to be elevated to the senior list. What has been your highlight so far?
Everyone talks about their first game, but that match against Collingwood wasn't a great experience the way we lost one we should have won. So I'd probably say my first NAB Cup game up on the Gold Coast – it was the first match I played for this club. I know it wasn't a home-and-away game, but we had a win and it was a good showing up there.

A couple of the traits you've shown in your first few games are an ability to kick a nice goal but also to chase down and tackle your opponents. Which gives you more of a buzz?
I reckon most people would say kicking a goal, but the ultimate for me would be to have a run-down tackle and then kick a goal. That's the sort of the thing that lifts the team, so I'd get a bit of a buzz from doing that in front of a big crowd.

A highlight of your game against Brisbane was the amount of 'unrewarded running' you did to put pressure on the opposition when they had the ball. Is that something you pride yourself on?
You don't just run just because you think you are going to get the ball or reach the bloke with the ball. You run for the team, even when you're getting tired. I suppose that's the Shinboner code – you've got to be selfless and ruthless and hunt together. It's something we're definitely trying to pride ourselves on this year.