Four years and 17 games into his AFL career, Collingwood key defender Ben Reid is finally a Rising Star.

The 21-year-old had a career-high 22 possessions and kept Jack Watts to one goal and little influence in Monday's draw against Melbourne.

This is becoming a breakout year for Reid after making his debut in 2007.

"I actually didn't know I was eligible until I was told this morning that I'd been nominated, it was a bit of a surprise," he said.

"It's been four years now, so it's nice to get a bit of reward for a bit of hard work I've done."

Reid was a skinny kid when he joined the Magpies, and a broken foot in 2008 also set him back.

After joining Collingwood as a key forward, he switched to defence last year and spent most of the season learning about back line play in the VFL.

But he has played nine games this season and impressed his team-mates.

"He's been outstanding for us, Reidy - he's also learning how to play as a (defender) as well as learning how to play AFL footy," said captain Nick Maxwell.

"So it's been pretty impressive the way he's gone about it this year and over the pre-season.

"He's still learning, he has a lot of improvement, but his desperation and way he's gone about it has been really good."

Reid said the hardest part so far had been bulking up his young body.

"I've had to work pretty hard in the gym to get stronger ... I was pretty skinny when I came to the club," he said.

"That's definitely the hardest part to do, you still have to run and you have to try and put on weight at the same time.

"I've put on probably 15-16kg since I arrived here."

Reid was particularly pleased that he did so well on Watts, noting that it probably will not be the last time they cross paths on the field.

"We could play on each other a fair bit - you definitely want to start well on those sorts of players and try and get on top of them as early as you can," he said.

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