Promising Crow Sam Shaw says he’s honoured if not a “little surprised” to receive the Round 21 NAB Rising Star nomination, but believes teammate Daniel Talia has him covered for the prestigious award.

Shaw, 21, was recognised with a Rising Star nod after collecting 22 possessions and 11 rebound 50ms in Adelaide’s loss to Brisbane at the Gabba on Saturday night.

Talia earned Adelaide’s first nomination for the season against St Kilda in round 12.

Shaw said it was pleasing two of the Club’s young defenders had been recognised for consistent performances.

“I certainly wasn’t expecting the nomination … and it’s very humbling to receive it,” Shaw said on Tuesday.

“I watched a few other games over the weekend and thought a couple of other guys were more deserving than me. I watched the Gold Coast v Hawthorn game and saw Steven May tear it up in the forward line, so I thought he’d be a decent chance.

“I also saw Jordan Murdoch, who I played with at Glenelg last year, do really well for Geelong. There was some stiff competition, so it’s fantastic to receive the nod.

“It’s good to see two players from the Club get nominations this year. We didn’t get one last season and I think I’m only the 19^th player in the Crows’ history to receive one.

“I think ‘Talz’ might already have it stitched up though.”

Drafted alongside Talia in the 2009 AFL Draft (pick No.45), Shaw endured a nightmarish first two years at Adelaide. His growing body, which has added 14kg and several centimetres since draft day, struggled to cope with the physical demands of AFL training and he developed chronic back and shin injuries.

He was limited to a handful of games with Glenelg in the first 18 months, only managing to string a run of matches together late last season.

Shaw was carefully managed in his third pre-season, breaking into the team during the NAB Cup.

He was selected to make his long-awaited debut against Greater Western Sydney in round four and has now played 10 games.

“It was a goal of mine throughout the pre-season to cement myself in the side this year,” he said.

“I started out just wanting to get through the pre-season because that was something I wasn’t able to achieve in my first two seasons. The main thing for me has been getting some consistency in my training and playing regular games - that has been the key to be gaining more self-belief and confidence.

“This (season) is the most games I’ve played in a year in my senior career … and it’s been a bit of reward for the hard work that has gone into the last 12-24 months.”

But Shaw has not been without setbacks this season. The former Xavier College student was sidelined with hamstring tightness the week after making his AFL debut.

He also sustained a freak eye injury in Adelaide’s win over GWS in round 16.

“It was a pretty bad injury, actually. I couldn’t really see for the rest of the day - I only had partial vision in my left eye,” Shaw said.

“It wasn’t too bad the next day, but the surgeon discovered I had a bit of blood haemorrhaging around the back and the sides of my eye. I had to let that settle down because if I exercised and got my blood pressure up there was a chance more blood vessels could burst, which could potentially lead to me losing my eyesight.

“I was keen to play that weekend, but when I heard that news I took a step back and was happy to have a weekend off to get it right.”

Shaw has established himself as the ‘third tall’ in Adelaide’s defence, dropping off his opponent to lend support to Talia and veteran full-back Ben Rutten and clearing the ball with his raking left foot.

“Every week I’m learning new things and I’ve still got plenty of areas in my game I need to develop,” he said.

“I’m under no illusions as to where I’m at in my career. I’ve only played 10 games and I’ve got a long journey ahead.”

Shaw described it as “bittersweet” receiving a Rising Star nomination in a disappointing loss for his team. He said the defeat was a harsh lesson for his team leading into the business end of the season.

“It’s something we haven’t really seen from us too much this year. There was a drop in our mentality and once Brisbane got a roll on we weren’t able to flick the switch back on,” he said.

It just goes to show, you can’t switch off against any team. You have to be playing at 100 per cent the whole game because if they get back in, the momentum really kills you.

“We’re not looking to finals at this stage. We need to come in at full intensity over the next two weeks and address those issues.”