PORT Adelaide defender Alipate Carlile says his Round 22 nomination for the NAB Rising Star is reward for "all the time and effort" the club has put into its young players.
Carlile, 21, has made the Power’s previously vacant full-back position his own this year, playing all 22 games and going toe-to-toe with some of the biggest names in the AFL on a weekly basis.
On Saturday, Carlile braved a bout of the flu to play an integral role in Port Adelaide’s shock 76-point win over top-four fancies North Melbourne.
Power staffers and fans have been petitioning for Carlile to earn a nomination all season, but the news of his gong still came as a surprise to the unassuming defender.
“I’m a bit shell-shocked to tell you the truth - it probably wasn’t my best game for the year,” Carlile said on Monday.
“It didn’t really faze me whether I got one [a nomination] or not. I was just trying to play every game - that was my aim for the year, and luckily I got through the year.
“It’s been a long year for us as a club, but to have a little individual recognition is reward for all the time and effort the club has put into us young guys.”
Carlile played nine AFL games last season as part of the Power’s succession plan for life after club stalwart Darryl Wakelin.
The Fijian-born defender showed promise in just his second year at Alberton, but was squeezed out of the Port Adelaide line up, in favour of Wakelin, for the preliminary final and was an emergency in the grand final loss to Geelong.
At the start of 2008, questions were raised as to whether the inexperienced Carlile was ready to take over the tough full-back position, but he quickly silenced any doubters with strong performances against Coleman Medal runner-up Brendan Fevola and Brisbane Lions star Jonathan Brown.
“I’m definitely starting to feel more comfortable, but I’ve still got a long way to go and a lot of areas to improve on,” Carlile said.
“I’ve exceeded some of my expectations this year, but I’m still a work in progress.”
Carlile identified Fevola, and in particular the round 19 clash where the Power conceded more than 70 inside 50s, as one of his toughest assignments to date.
“All my opponents have been tough in different ways, but I’ve played on guys like Brendan Fevola and Jonathan Brown, so they’d be the two toughest,” he said.
“I have learned a whole range of things over the year just from playing on guys like that and, hopefully, it holds me in good stead over the next couple of years.
“The ball just always goes to them and you knows it’s going to go to them. You’re going to have at least 20 contests a game playing on guys like that, so if you can hold them to four or five goals, I think you’re doing pretty well.”
In 2006, the former basketballer became the second-ever Fijian player, behind second cousin David Rodan, to play in the AFL.
Carlile, who moved from his birthplace of Lautoka when he was just six months old, said his Power teammate and cousin had provided some great inspiration over the years.
"It was great when David got drafted by Richmond and it sort of got me thinking that it would be good to play alongside him one day,” Carlile said.
“When we both lived in Melbourne, we used to spend a fair bit of time together, but when my family moved to the country we sort of lost touch a little.
“When David came across here, he made me realise how professional you have to be to make it. He’s definitely dragged me a long way.”
Carlile joins 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), Jack Riewoldt (Richmond), Kyle Reimers (Essendon), Brett Ebert (West Coast), Gavin Urquhart (North Melbourne), Shaun Grigg (Carlton), Cale Morton (Melbourne) and Bradd Dalziell (Brisbane Lions) as contenders for this year's prize.
