Richmond’s exciting youngster, Luke Trainor, earned himself the Round 18 AFL Rising Star nomination after a string of consistent performances this season.

The 19-year-old from Brighton Grammar School has established himself as a key player in the side's best 23, having taken to the field in every game this season.

Trainor told the media this week that he was grateful to be acknowledged for the award.

“It’s been such a fun year, and it has been good to get some reward for effort,” Trainor said.  

“I just love being out there with some of my best mates and getting some wins, which is good.”

Throughout his debut season, Trainor has demonstrated an ability to play across all three lines, starting as a defender, then transitioning to the wing, and even floating down forward, where he kicked his first career goal in Round 16.

Trainor's performances haven't dipped despite moving positions, a true testament to his versatility.

“It’s been pretty good. I have had some great opportunities to play all around the ground,” Trainor said.  

“Recently, I have been playing wing, and I started off the season playing down back, and I have been down forward as well, so the coaches have heaps of trust in me and I’m so grateful for it.

“It’s a great learning. I’ve always prided myself on having a bit of versatility, so it’s good being able to take on new roles and learn what it's like to play on all lines at AFL level.

“I wanted to focus on knuckling down and playing in the backline in pre-season, but I’m not too phased, I just love being out there with a footy in my hands.”

Trainor said having good mates Taj Hotton and Harry Armstrong picked up in the same draft class helped his transition into senior footy.

The trio were once all teammates on the basketball court, where they played for McKinnon. 

“It was pretty cool, obviously you go into the draft with heaps of your mates, and you're sort of hoping that things can fall together in your way, and they actually did, so it was pretty cool,” Trainor said.

“Coming in with a lot of your mates makes the transition a lot easier.”

Fresh off a win against Essendon last weekend, Trainor is hopeful his side can carry the momentum over to Perth as they take on West Coast on Saturday night.

“When we are playing our best footy, it’s such a great brand and everyone is up and about,” Trainor said.

“It was a good game last time they came over here, so it would be nice to get two on the trot.

“I think just taking things day to day, celebrating the small wins out of training, blokes returning from injury, blokes playing their first game and milestones...I think celebrating the little things will go a long way in building good culture.”