NOTHING was safe in Sam Petrevski-Seton's former life as just another starry eyed kid dreaming of the big time.

Petrevski-Seton and his older brother, Cody, used to practice their kicking – on both feet – by taking pot shots at anything from trees to poles to signs to doorways.

Anything that would make them better.

Those well-honed skills are serving Petrevski-Seton, known best as 'Samo', well in his latest chapter as a Carlton footballer.

The 19-year-old's keen eye, composure and precision foot passing were on show as he played a starring role in the Blues' 23-point defeat of Collingwood at the MCG on Saturday.

Petrevski-Seton racked up 21 disposals (10 contested), two goals, seven score involvements, three clearances and three tackles on his way to being the round seven NAB AFL Rising Star nominee.

He achieved some history for Carlton in the process, giving the club back-to-back nominations for the first time after defender Caleb Marchbank received one last week.

The closest the Blues came to that previously was with Kade Simpson and Adam Bentick, who picked up nominations in rounds 18 and 20 in 2005.

More exciting for Carlton fans is both Petrevski-Seton and Marchbank loom as genuine contenders to become the first Blue to win the award. 

"It's pretty great for us individuals, but mainly for the club," Petrevski-Seton told AFL.com.au.

"It's a real privilege to get the nomination in my first year, because I'm just trying to play as many games as I can and perform as well as I can to keep my spot." 

Carlton coach Brendon Bolton made no attempt to douse the hype about the classy indigenous midfielder at the weekend. 

"We picked him (in round one) on the back of no JLT (series games), so that probably says what regard we hold him in," Bolton said.

"He's got a lot to learn about the way we play, but we just see the poise on the track all the time.

"He makes good decisions in pressure situations at training, so I'm not too surprised it's starting to come out in his game."

Petrevski-Seton has one of the better back stories from the 2016 NAB AFL Draft, where he was Carlton's first selection and No.6 overall.

He spent his first three years living on a cattle station 70km from Fitzroy Crossing, the nearest major town to Halls Creek, in the East Kimberley region in north-east Western Australia.

Petrevski-Seton once even wanted to be a bull rider rather than a footballer, but his oval ball talents saw him pack his bags for Perth. 

He made his senior debut for Halls Creek Hawks as a 13-year-old in the East Kimberley Football League, then four years later was playing in the WAFL for Claremont. 


Petrevski-Seton has taken the path less travelled to the AFL. (Photo: AFL Media)

In between, Petrevski-Seton twice won the Division One best and fairest at the NAB AFL Under-16 Championships and was an All Australian as a bottom-age player in the under-18s in 2015. 

A persistent hamstring injury plagued him last year, but recruiters had seen enough and the teenager got his wish of a Melbourne-based club snapping him up.

"I really wanted to continue my footy in Melbourne, because I wanted another challenge in life after four years in Perth," Petrevski-Seton said.

"Carlton is one of the biggest clubs in the system and has a really great history … I'm trying to learn as much as I can about the club and it's a great club to be a part of.

"The hardest part has been mental, with the amount of meetings and also to understand things (tactically) to be able to perform on game day." 

CARLTON RISING STAR NOMINATIONS:

2016 – Jacob Weitering

2015 – Patrick Cripps

2014 – Troy Menzel, Dylan Buckley

2013 – None

2012 – None

2011 – None

2010 – Jeff Garlett, Chris Yarran

2009 – Aaron Joseph

2008 – Shaun Grigg, Matthew Kreuzer

2007 – Bryce Gibbs

2006 – Marc Murphy

2005 – Adam Bentick, Kade Simpson

2004 – Karl Norman, Andrew Walker

2003 – Trent Sporn, Jarrad Waite, Brad Fisher

2002 – None

2001 – None

2000 – Ryan Houlihan

1999 – Brett Backwell

1998 – Darren Hulme, Kris Massie

1997 – Lance Whitnall

1996 – None

1995 – Scott Camporeale, Adrian Whitehead

1994 – James Cook, Troy Bond

1993 – Ang Christou