Veteran defender Dale Morris has praised teammate and NAB AFL Rising Star Nominee Aaron Naughton.
Yesterday Naughton was named the NAB AFL Rising Star Nominee for Round 23.
In a superb first season, Naughton has played 18 games. He collected 18 disposals (12 contested), nine marks, 12 intercept possessions and four rebound 50s in the Dogs’ three point loss to Richmond on Saturday.
“Naughts has been super this year,” Morris told westernbulldogs.com.au.
“The way he’s been able to come in and fit in so seamlessly has really impressed me; the way that he’s playing, it looks like he’s been at the club a long time.
“To get the nomination, and it’s about time, is a great reward for him. I’m very happy for him and proud of him to be able to do that.”
The 18-year-old Western Australian was taken with pick nine in the 2017 NAB AFL Draft. He made an immediate impact at VU Whitten Oval, making his debut in round one.
Naughton took to the task of playing on some of the game’s best key forwards this year, spending time on Lance Franklin, Jack Riewoldt, Ben Brown and Jeremy Cameron.
“It’s a huge achievement to step into the team and be able to play down back, full back. It’s a very, very tough position, one of the hardest positions on the ground,” said Morris.
“He’s done a great job (but) it’s not just limited to him. You look across the whole team. You’ve got young Ed who has really stepped up, Billy Gowers in his first year (at the Bulldogs), Timmy English played some games coming through, Lynchy coming in as well, and the list goes on and on.
“It's a great sign for the club with those young guys coming through and playing the footy that we’d like them to, fitting in with the team and doing the team thing. The future is bright, that’s for sure.”
Morris said Naughton is eager to learn and regularly seeks advice from teammates.
“There’s a lot to learn for young guys coming in. I found when I first got to the club, I learnt a lot from some of the great players that this club has seen. I’d take on bits and pieces from a wide variety of players,” said Morris.
“Naughty is the same. He’ll come in and you’ll have chats with him and he’ll pick your brain on positioning and the use of your body.
“He’s a great kid that just wants to learn and he wants to get the best out of himself. You can see that and you can feel that in the way he presents himself. He doesn’t limit it to just talking to me - he’ll go and talk to Woody, he’ll talk to Spec, he’ll talk to Suckers, he’ll talk to everyone to see what they do.
“I don’t know if he’s a student of the game but he knows the game, he understands the game, he loves to learn. He wants to be the best player and person that he can be and that’s a great attribute for such a young kid.”
