Talia on a mission to back up award

Crows defender and Rising Star Award-winner Daniel Talia with his Weimaraner, Indi. Picture: Sarah Reed. Source: The Advertiser

SOME stars shine brighter than others. After just 32 games, Adelaide centre half-back Daniel Talia has his star officially endorsed, stamped and put on a billboard by head office at AFL House.

He is the game's "Rising Star". For this year - and beyond - the Victorian-born defender who in 2012 became the Crows' first player to be recognised as the league's official young gun does not want to be blinded in a galaxy of burning and falling stars.

"It was a nice award to win as recognition for last year ... but it was last year," said Talia. "It's a totally different year now."

Adelaide defence coach, Geelong premiership defender Darren Milburn, told Talia in the pre-season: "Don't put any extra pressure on yourself now that you have won an award."

And Talia has remembered that. "It was a nice way to finish last year," said Talia. "But this year you have to keep improving ... or that award means nothing."

Rising Stars rarely embarrass the AFL. The majority have fulfilled the vision seen before a milestone is reached. And for Talia, who acknowledges there is still much to add to his game, he still has much promise to develop.

"There is pressure to perform," admitted Talia.

"There's a lot of past winners who have had successful careers. To be in that category is humbling but it does not mean anything if you don't go on and do it.

"It's good for me to stay focused. I have to keep performing year in, year out if I want to be a worthy winner of that award."

The pre-season has not been kind to Talia. He played in the NAB Cup 20/20 openers last month troubled by a sinus infection that made it difficult to breathe while playing in scorching heat.

He talked his way into the line-up, a move coach Brenton Sanderson later regretted.

Talia, 21, played just one genuine pre-season game, the last NAB Cup clash with Carlton.

"I'd had the perfect pre-season - I was in every session and had done all the running," said Talia. "I was looking good heading into the NAB Cup and then I had that sinus infection. That set me back two or three weeks.

"But I've definitely done enough work to have enough run and fitness in my legs to carry me through." Talia's summer presented a long list of challenges for a player understanding his game is not complete.

"I want to be more attacking," said Talia, who sought to boost his aerobic fitness in the pre-season.

"I need to pick the right opportunities to be attacking - I want to show more offensive run, get more of the ball but at the same time I still want to play my role in the team as that shut-down defender. There's a bit of balance there."

Talia starts the AFL premiership season tonight already having banked on his rising star with a contract extension keeping him at Adelaide until the end of 2016.

With the memory of how his 2010 season was affected by having contract negotiations unfold, Talia is pleased to be free of that off-field distraction today.

"They came to me a month ago - and I was pretty happy to get something done before the start of the year and to take a bit of pressure off," said Talia.

"I was pretty surprised (the deal) came so early  ... historically, Adelaide has not approached players this early in the year.

"It was good to get it done before the start of the season."

Adelaide strategically put lead ruckman Sam Jacobs and Talia on long-terms deals. Jacobs, as a homegrown boy who left Carlton to be a Crow, was a low-risk signee.

Talia had the lure of home in Melbourne, where his brother Michael plays at the Western Bulldogs and where their grandfather Harvey Stevens played in the Dogs' only premiership side of 1954.

And, after the contract fiasco with Kurt Tippett, there was the prospect of the non-South Australian clan at West Lakes wondering if they should stay at a club tarnished by scandal and draft penalties.

"There were a few factors I had to weigh up," admits Talia.

"Obviously, being from Melbourne, you always weigh up going home. Everyone would miss their family  ... and then having a brother at the Bulldogs and a grandpa who played there, I had a little look and think of what it would be like there.

"But I want to repay this club for the opportunity they gave me (as a first-round draft pick in 2009)."

Remarkably, Talia's Adelaide-born partner, Megan, did not want to be in Melbourne. And critically for the Crows, Talia never thought twice about the stain on the Adelaide Football Club.

"This club is really well run - everyone is professional," said Talia.

"As soon as the Tippett thing happened Triggy (chief executive Steven Trigg) and Chappy (chairman Rob Chapman) came to the group and said they were going to put a lot more resources into the football program.

"Although we lost those draft picks, the club is doing everything behind the scenes to compensate for that.

"Knowing they were going to put extra resources into the playing group was really good to hear. The more coaches, the more resources there are, the more chance there is for us to develop as players.

"From the outside, you may think you would not want to be there (at a club tainted by a long off-season saga). But inside, that had nothing to do with the players.

"It did not affect me with my first contract and in this new contract there is certainly nothing dodgy."

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