West Coast Eagles young gun Reuben Ginbey has been rewarded for a superb start to his career by claiming the round three AFL Rising Star nomination after his impressive performance in Sunday's RAC Derby.

In his first taste of the crosstown rivalry, the big-bodied midfielder thrived in the heat of battle against Fremantle, collecting 20 disposals, an equal team-high 13 contested possessions and the most clearances (six) of any Eagle.

He also laid an equal-game high eight tackles, and the 18-year-old Dunsborough product remarkably leads the competition for tackles (26) after three rounds.

Taken with pick No.9 in last year’s national draft, Ginbey is West Coast’s first weekly Rising Star recipient since key forward Oscar Allen was nominated in round 21, 2019.

“It’s very exciting and I think it’s a reward for the hard work I’ve put in over pre-season,” Ginbey said.

“To get that nomination in my first Derby is really exciting. It’s been an awesome experience to play my first three games.”

Blessed with athleticism and power, Ginbey has held his own in the cut and thrust of the fight for possession and is relishing the physicality at the elite level.

“I’ve been learning off the best midfielders in the competition and seeing all the different tricks of the craft they’ve got and I’m just going to keep learning,” he said.

“The first two rounds I played on Luke Davies-Uniacke and Tom Green, probably two of the bigger-bodied midfielders who have been dominating the comp over the first few rounds, and it’s awesome to learn what they can do inside the contest but also outside and break lines as well.

“In the modern game the midfielders are getting taller, bigger and stronger so it’s just being able to learn off and compete with them.”

Drafted from East Perth via the Dunsborough Sharks, Ginbey was rated extremely highly by West Coast’s recruiters, who secured the ideal result when they landed Ginbey and Elijah Hewett in the first-round after splitting pick two.

Fellow draftee Noah Long and 2021 first-round pick Campbell Chesser have also received opportunities in the opening three games, and are growing together as part of the next generation set to take the club forward.

“It’s super exciting. We have a really good young core of players coming through who have all had a sniff of AFL football and hopefully a few more can debut throughout the year,” Ginbey said.

“It’s great to be able to fill the team with a lot of the other younger players who are becoming close as a group and can hopefully keep building the team for the years to come.”