THE SYDNEY Swans' big win over West Coast has been further sweetened with young midfielder Kieren Jack’s NAB AFL Rising Star nomination for round four.
Jack, 20, was asked to run with Daniel Kerr in just his sixth game on the weekend, and restricted the gun Eagles' midfielder to 10 kicks, five handballs and a mark.
Jack also racked up 14 disposals and kicked a goal in the Swans' 62-point win, and won the praise of coach Paul Roos after the game.
"Daniel Kerr is one of the best players in the competition and that's the great thing about Kieren – he's got an enormous capacity to negate the other player," Roos said. "In a very short space of time, he's become a really competent AFL player."
Jack was elevated from the rookie list at the end of last year, and was humble when asked about the nomination.
"It's a little bit of a surprise, actually," he told afl.com.au.
"I was just performing my role in the team, which was to shut down a pretty good player. I was just trying to do that as much as I could while also trying to work off him a little bit, and make him work the other way around."
Jack didn't start playing Australian Rules until he was 13, after being raised in a rugby league household. His father Garry was a former Balmain Tigers fullback, who represented both the New South Wales State of Origin side and Australia during the 1980s and early 1990s.
Unsurprisingly, Jack played league as a youngster and came late to AFL.
"I was still pretty young and slight when I was 13, and was more suited to AFL than League at that time," Jack said.
"With League, you can get some kids who are pretty big at 13 years old. I was also enjoying Australian Rules a lot more, so in the end, that's what the decision came down to.
"Dad's been very supportive of me, coming to all my games and trying to help out where he can, which is probably only tackling-wise, because he doesn't know much about the game styles yet.
"He's loving it. I've got two younger brothers that both play rugby league, so he still gets to watch them and be involved in footy that way."
Jack's brothers, Rhys, 18, and Brandon, 13, are already showing potential. Rhys plays for the Canterbury Bulldogs under-20 side in the Toyota Cup, and Brandon for the local league club.
"I've tried to get the young one over to AFL, but I've got no hope," Jack said. "I can't get him yet. He's loving his rugby league too much."
Jack has recently been asked to stop players of the calibre of Shaun Burgoyne, Luke Power and Kerr, and is already anticipating facing off with Geelong's talent-filled midfield this weekend.
"They haven't just got one or two gun midfielders. Their whole midfield attack is just phenomenal," Jack said.
"It's certainly going to be a massive challenge going down there, but all the boys are ready for it."
The former rookie and NSW/ACT Ram is the first Swan to be nominated for the award since Paul Bevan in round four, 2004. He joins Bachar Houli (Essendon), Josh Hill (Western Bulldogs) and Rhys Palmer (Fremantle) as contenders for this year's prize.
To see highlights of Jack halting one of the game's most damaging midfielders, click here.