ESSENDON's new breed of exciting baby Bombers has been given another endorsement, with forward Kyle Reimers the latest youngster to be nominated for the NAB AFL Rising Star.

Reimers, 19, won the round 16 nomination for his 18-disposal performance against Richmond on Saturday. He also kicked a goal, took five marks and laid four tackles.

"I was a bit surprised, I wasn't expecting [the nomination] at all," Reimers told afl.com.au.

"I didn't think my form had been that flash over the past couple of weeks, but it was good to get a decent one under my belt again.

"It means a fair bit to me because it's something every kid would like to get, with all the great players in the past that have been nominated.

"It's a big honour."

Reimers came to Essendon in the 2006 NAB AFL Draft, when he was recruited with selection No.47; a pick the Dons received along with No.42 (Bachar Houli) from Fremantle in exchange for former Bomber Dean Solomon.

The young gun had to relocate from his home state of Western Australia, which, combined with limited senior opportunities, he initially found tough.

However, a punishing pre-season regime this year has seen Reimers boost his fitness level to a remarkable standard, which has seen him add 13 games to the three he recorded last season.

"I think my year has been fairly consistent. I'm pretty happy with it," he said.

"The main factor has been with the fitness base I've got now. I did a lot of work with John Quinn [former Essendon high performance manager] and Joel Hocking [fitness coach] over the pre-season to work on my fitness.

"That's helped me a fair bit. I was one of the most unfit players when I arrived.

"I'd never really done a pre-season before. I had to work on my endurance and my repeated efforts, as well as get some weight on me.

"They had me hill running, doing medicine ball work and lots of sprints. It was great times."

Reimers named Adam McPhee and Jay Nash as teammates who have had a profound effect on his career so far, but said his housemates – David Myers, Tayte Pears and Bendigo's Hayden Skipworth – have made Melbourne feel "more like home".

He lived with his sister last season but moved into a club house with the trio in mid-December.

"It's been really good. We help each other out, we always look after each other and make sure we're on time with everything, so it's really good," he said.

Other 2008 nominees: Bachar Houli (Essendon), Josh Hill (Western Bulldogs), Rhys Palmer (Fremantle), Kieren Jack (Sydney), Ben McKinley (West Coast), Cyril Rioli (Hawthorn), Austin Wonaeamirri (Melbourne), Kurt Tippett (Adelaide), Garrick Ibbotson (Fremantle), Nathan Brown (Collingwood), Matthew Kreuzer (Carlton), Trent Cotchin (Richmond), Jarryd Morton (Hawthorn), Colin Garland (Melbourne) and Jack Riewoldt (Richmond).