The challenge of senior football doesn't intimidate Adelaide's teenage defender Jake Lever, whose confidence is boosted by the support his teammates offer.
Lever has played four games this year after the Crows drafted him with pick No.14 at last year's NAB AFL Draft.
Injuries to such defenders Matthew Jaensch and Brodie Smith have forced the Crows to throw the 19-year-old into the deep end, but he's handled the experience superbly.
He's ranked second in his Rising Star class for average marks, fourth for one-percenters and fifth for kicks; only Gold Coast's Jack Leslie is averaging more time on the ground.
Lever's quick development has many hailing him a future star but he credited his form on having tremendous help from those around him.
His teammates' help meant the thought of stopping seasoned AFL forwards – as he did Fremantle's Zac Clarke and Chris Mayne on the weekend – wasn't scary at all.
"They're very good players but I like to think that with our team-first mentality I get an all-round effort from the team defensively – I get a lot of help from blokes like Kyle Cheney, Rory Laird," Lever said.
"It's not just me jumping into them – or them jumping into me – it's been a really good effort defensively from [those] blokes.
"It's not daunting, I just like to take the challenge each week and get good help."
Neither Clarke nor Mayne kicked a goal on Lever at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night – Clarke didn't even win a possession – but the Dockers had the last laugh, flying home 11-point winners.
It was the Crows' second loss in a row, after they failed against Greater Western Sydney the week before.
They have their best chance of the year to affirm their place in the top eight on Saturday, though, when they take on an out-of-sorts Carlton outfit at the MCG.
Lever was kind to the battling Blues, saying they had shown "really good signs" in their 10-goal loss to the Sydney Swans at the weekend.
"We're really hungry for a contest, obviously we're coming off two disappointing losses so we're out to redeem ourselves," he said.
