WA draft bolter Reuben Ginbey grew up watching Fremantle champion Nat Fyfe, inspired by the dual Brownlow medallist's transformation from a skinny half-forward to a big-bodied midfielder.

A Fremantle fan with a signed footy from the Dockers superstar in his room, Ginbey had physical similarities with the draftee version of Fyfe and recognised the advantage he could gain by getting in the gym early. So he got to work.

The result over the last two years is a physical transformation that has seen the young gun, who is tipped to be a top 10 pick in this month's NAB AFL Draft, add 15kg and move from the wing to defence and finally settle as an inside midfielder. 

His evolution has been aided by a growth spurt that saw the Dunsborough product grow from 178cm to 190cm, leaving him well on the way to building an AFL-physique like Fyfe.

"One of my favourite players growing up has been Nat Fyfe, and he built his body up really quickly," Ginbey told AFL.com.au. 

"It's something really inspiring to see him drafted as a skinny teenager and then build himself up into a dual Brownlow medallist.

"That's something I learned watching him, to get in the gym earlier and build up my strength, which can really help you on the field as a midfielder."

Ginbey's rise this year has been meteoric, starting as a relatively unknown prospect who had been overlooked for WA State squads at every level from under-12s to under-17s.

The 18-year-old had even missed out initially on the East Perth colts team last year before earning an invite as a train-on player. He maintained belief in his ability through the knockbacks, with his dad Peter and Dunsborough Sharks coach Marty Burgess encouraging him to keep chipping away.

An invite to train with the East Perth league team leading into 2022 was a breakthrough moment, however, as Ginbey made an impression with former West Coast player Hamish Brayshaw and Royals assistant coach Ross McQueen, who pushed his case to the WA selectors.

"I thought I'd hang around there and just train before heading back to the colts, but I had a goal to play one game and that came in round one," Ginbey said.

"From there I built and played a handful of games before heading back to school footy, so that experience and playing and training with some ex-AFL players like Hamish Brayshaw, Angus Schumacher and Damon Greaves was really good.

"That was one of the highlights of the year, and then playing champs footy and playing for WA for the first time."

Touted as a third tall defender with WA, Ginbey's midfield chance came after State coach Ben Dyer and talent manager Adam Jones decided he had the athletic profile to thrive as an onballer at the national championships.

The humble teenager got his first shot in the Black Swans' opening game against Vic Metro at Ikon Park in June, going head-to-head with top-line midfielders Will Ashcroft and Cam Mackenzie and holding his own.   

"At that stage we knew we had a bona fide gun," Jones told AFL.com.au.

"We were very conscious that we could be throwing him to the wolves, having not played there a great deal or at any high level.

"But the quality of kid he is, he was our most reliable midfielder and ended up being our MVP as well."

While this year's Draft is flush with midfielders who can go forward, Ginbey's point of different is his defensive attributes after his move into the backline in 2021 and part of 2022.

Having shown the ability to play on both small and tall forwards at junior level, including Carlton's Jesse Motlop and Melbourne's Jacob van Rooyen, he has held onto his defensive strengths this year.  

"I'm more of a defensive person first and I value the smaller things, like tackling, spoiling, getting inside the contest. I love doing the hard stuff, doing the one percenters and freeing up teammates," he said.

"That move into defence really helped me with my midfield work. You get a lot of offensive mid/forwards, but there's not too many defender/mids, so hopefully that gives me a point of difference."

With the November 28/29 Draft now around the corner, Ginbey has returned to Dunsborough after school exams in Perth and is passing the time with four gym sessions a week, plenty of running, and a regular surf at his favourite break, Three Bears.  

He'll happily travel anywhere in Australia to launch his career, excited and grateful for the opportunity he'll soon be given. West Coast looms large at pick No.8, if he lasts that long.   

"It's always been a goal of mine to play AFL footy, but I don't know how realistic that was, even coming into this year," he said.  

"It's really exciting now and it feels like I'm one step closer to achieving my dream."