PROMISING Adelaide young gun Kurt Tippett is the latest player to find himself in the running for the 2008 NAB AFL Rising Star, after the emerging forward was nominated for his round eight performance against Melbourne.

Tippett, 21, booted four goals against the Demons to take his season tally to 13, after a spate of impressive outings in the Crows' attacking half following his round one debut.

"Every week that you play, you feel more confident and you build a relationship with your teammates and a bit of an understanding," Tippett told afl.com.au.

"That goes a long way in making you feel comfortable, and helps your performance as well."

Tippett, another basketball convert, didn't play his first game of Australian Rules until he was 17 after being convinced to participate in school football by his mates.

He identified that a clearer path to playing at professional level existed in football and opted to shelve his dreams of joining the NBL and took up the game full time before joining Queensland side Southport.

"Growing up, I loved the thought of playing professional sport, and I got to 17 and I'd played a lot of basketball and couldn't really see a career path in it," he said.

"I couldn't see the steps to take to play professional basketball, and I was having a lot of fun playing football with my friends.

"There was a clear pathway there and you always knew what you had to do to make it happen."

He was selected to represent his state in the 2006 NAB AFL Under 18 Championships, and it was then he was identified by the Crows as an emerging talent before they picked him with selection No.32 in the NAB AFL Draft of that year.

He made the shift across the country from his Queensland home and was set to commence his AFL career, but a spate of bad luck came his way and his first full season as a Crow was decimated by injury.

"It's been a bit of a whirlwind this year," he said, having put the complaints behind him.  

"I never would have thought coming off last year, which was a pretty hard year for me with a few injuries and setbacks, that I'd start this year the way I have.

"I couldn't have asked for anything more."

Although only in his second full year at the club, Tippett has endured his fair share of hardships with two lengthy injuries largely defining the start of his career.

The young Queenslander cracked a vertebra in his back in December 2006 in a training collision, and was forced into a neck brace for six weeks before being instructed to stay out of full training for an additional month and a half.

Then, after playing seven games in the SANFL, he popped his shoulder and consequently underwent a reconstruction, which ruled him out for the remainder of the season.

"Being able to complete a full pre-season and get the training under my belt has helped me this year," he said.

"I wasn't able to complete last pre-season, and the work I've been able to do this year has really given me the confidence to go forward with my footy and run games out."

The young Crow said he was enjoying the opportunity to play as an attacking option, after starting off his playing career as a potential ruckman.

"Over the pre-season, I did a lot of work with the forward coaches and I was able to make the move up forward, and that's been great for me," he said.

"During the under-18 carnival, I played as a forward for Queensland and that's what I was drafted as because that's what the club needed.

"I always had that role in my mind, and I was pretty comfortable with that, but last year with a couple of injuries to our ruckmen, I moved my attention to the ruck and helped out there.

"Then, the season ended pretty quickly for me so I wasn't able to play much, but I knew coming into this year, my main focus was to become a tall forward."

Tippett is the first Crow to be nominated for the NAB AFL Rising Star since Brent Reilly was recognised in round 16, 2004. He joins Bachar Houli (Essendon), Josh Hill (Western Bulldogs), Rhys Palmer (Fremantle), Kieren Jack (Sydney), Ben McKinley (West Coast), Cyril Rioli (Hawthorn) and Austin Wonaeamirri (Melbourne) as contenders for this year's prize.