Young Adelaide forward Chris Knights concedes there are times when the taggers accompanying his newfound status as a dangerous AFL sharpshooter have gone close to driving him mad.

For the first time in his senior football career, 22-year-old Knights is dealing with the unrelenting attention of defenders, a sequence that began when North Melbourne's chief negator Brady Rawlings stood him in round 12.

The frustration and anger that spilled over so damagingly in ex-Swan Barry Hall is arguably present in all AFL players tagged or opposed by a scragging defender - the key is how they handle it.

"Definitely (it's a mental challenge), it's something that I feel at times like it's bubbling up inside of me, that frustration," said Knights.

"But as part of my preparation I go into games with a focus on trying not to get frustrated and just continue to work on and contribute to the team what I can control and it generally holds me in good stead that way."

The Kangaroos' decision to man-mark Knights confirmed his emergence as a genuine forward line threat, and followed a run of 19 goals in five weeks, including hauls of five against Essendon and Carlton.

In a way it was a point of honour for Knights, but it has still been a source of frustration, and has seen his goal-scoring output diminish in recent weeks (3.5 in the past three games) despite Adelaide's sustained run of six consecutive victories.

"It's been a little bit more of a challenge and it's a certain area of my AFL career that I've had to now manage, and it's been pretty tough but it's something that I've felt that I've handled okay," Knights said.

"On occasions I have (been tagged in the past), but not this closely and probably not this consistently.

"I just find nowadays I don't really get much room to move and I don't really get any time during the game when I'm by myself, but that's okay, I can still make sure I block and shepherd, tackle, do that sort of stuff and work hard."

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