Carlton legend Craig Bradley thinks so highly of Jeff Garlett, he has compared the 21-year-old to an all-time great indigenous AFL player.

Garlett's six-goal performance on Friday night not only suggested the praise might be warranted, but it also earned him a Rising Star nomination.

"Braddles always said he has (Gavin) Wanganeen's movement and things like that, so he calls him `Little Wangers'," said Carlton coach Brett Ratten.

"He finds the goals like Gavin did and Gavin played over 300 games, so hopefully Jeffy can do the same."

Wanganeen was inducted into the AFL Hall Of Fame earlier this year after a career that featured premierships at Essendon and Port Adelaide and a Brownlow Medal.

Garlett played his 26th senior game on Friday night as the Blues smashed Essendon by 76 points to put their season back on track.

He made his senior debut in round one last year and admits he was unaware of his eligibility for the Rising Star award.

"You're putting a name up for yourself, you can go a long way with it - it's a really good achievement for me," Garlett said.

Garlett and fellow indigenous small forwards Eddie Betts and Chris Yarran have become a lethal combination in Carlton's attack.

Their importance has become magnified since the Blues sacked Brendan Fevola at the end of last season, forcing them to reorganise their forward set-up.

Yarran was also nominated for the Rising Star after round one.

Garlett and Yarran go back a long way - they played for the Midvale junior club in Perth before progressing to Swan Districts and then the Blues.

Garlett said there is plenty of friendly rivalry between himself, Yarran and Betts, with Yarran declaring he is the quickest of the trio.

"I think he is by the clock, but Jeff thinks he's the best mark and Eddie thinks he can kick them from the boundary, so they all have their little mantle of something clever down there," Ratten said.

"It's a work in progress about challenging each other and working extremely hard.

"Eddie is a little bit older and he's been in the system longer, but it's becoming a lot more even between the three.

"I suppose it's something we enjoy from our club point of view, but then it puts the opposition under a bit more pressure - do you put your energy into Eddie, Jeff and then when Chris is in the team, do you put it into Chris as well?

"One of them will hopefully then get that latitude that's required to maybe do the damage."

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