THE first thing that blows you is his height. Then it's his hair. Then it's his smile.

When the conversation turns to drugs being sold in the Perth suburb where he grew up and still lives, and with police choppers overhead, he turns the subject into a positive and smiles.

Mention that his father died of cancer when he was just two and how his mother raised him and his twin brother, Mark, and he talks about how Australia and football have given his mum a wonderful life - and he smiles again.

Talk about how he can't go to the shops to buy a drink, or to the service station to buy petrol, because fans bail him up for an hour, and he tells how annoying it is ... but still smiles.

Talk about the hype - more manic than that around Ben Cousins and Chris Judd in their glory days at West Coast - and he is slightly embarrassed, which of course draws a smile.

In Nic Naitanui the AFL just might have its greatest attribute - on and off the ground.

At 22 he transcends the game. He is not bigger than the game, yet the game may not be big enough for Naitanui.

He is a footballer of grace and excitement. He is a young man made from hard yards and opportunity. He is a person who can inspire and educate. And, best of all, he is a footballer of warmth and soul who genuinely wants to make a difference.

The hype in WA, and growing nationally, is out of control.

People who know Naitanui say he hasn't changed, and he likes to think that too.

"It's massive to stay who I am," he said.

"Especially in Perth, because they blow you up to be a spectacular person and stuff.

"It can be difficult."

He now gets his brother to refuel his car and do his shopping.

"If I want to go buy a few Gatorades you end up getting photos with everyone and giving signatures, and the person behind the counter wants a photo.

"At the same time, it's part of coming into the game, and playing and looking the way I do, I guess.

"But I can't complain because I get paid to do it, and I love it, and I learn to deal with it.

"When I first started it was amazing because you'd go to some nightclub or to some shop and you get free stuff, and you think, 'Yeah, I can deal with this', but after three or four years, just give me a break, I don't need any more free stuff. It's not free at the end of the day.

"I suppose it's more about embracing it (the fame) than get angry about it."

It's not only the fans who clamour for Naitanui.

The Eagles say the requests from media, charity organisations and corporates are a daily beast.

They try to control it, but it goes askew when Naitanui says yes to events, such as a friend of a friend's party or gathering.

"We get plenty of requests," Eagles communications manager Gary Stocks said. "But we knock a lot back because he can't physically do them all.

"Nic has such a lovely nature, he doesn't like to say no, and a lot of people get to him because they know somebody and, if it's a worthy cause, he just can't knock them back. And then we find out he's agreed to do it.

"He's genuine. Some footballers say things because they try to manage their brand, but Nic doesn't do anything or say anything he's not. He genuinely believes he is blessed with the opportunity to play AFL footy and that he needs to give something back."

In Melbourne this week the media descended when he was announced as an AFL multicultural ambassador.

He did a press conference with Stephen Silvagni and Alex Jesaulenko, this interview, another with the West Australian, AFL Media, Channel 7, 3AW, then a Melbourne-based Chinese website and finally with Fox Footy's On The Couch.

At the airport to fly home that night he obliged a group who wanted photographs and a chat. Next day he was up early for a breakfast function, then straight into a lunch engagement.

"A lot of people don't understand," Stocks said. "He's the nicest bloke you've ever met. He's the most generous bloke I've ever met.

"It's not a public facade. He doesn't do it to make himself look good. He does it because that's the bloke he is."

Parts of Naitanui's Perth suburb, Midland, are best described as battling.

His uncle moved to Perth from Fiji to work the mines and Naitanui's mother, Atetha, followed in the late 1980s.

Her husband, Naitanui's father, died when he was two.

He still lives with his mother and his brother in a house about 5km from the one he was raised in.

He had Carlton star Chris Yarran and Fremantle Docker Michael Walters as neighbours and mates, and a whole lot of other things to keep him on his toes.

"Yeah, I still live there with my mum," he said.

"It keeps me grounded, keeps you in touch with reality, because I've seen a few players getting ahead of themselves once they get drafted, and think they are bigger than the rest of everybody else.

"I like it. I keep hanging around with my mates and schoolmates, and family.

"My brother is different to me.

"He's a plumber and him and his mates get out on Friday and Saturday nights, so it's hard for me when I've got footy on Saturday and they've been out drinking.

"I've got to watch them do that, but I don't mind because at the end of the day I'm playing footy, which I love.

"But it's two separate and different lifestyles, which is kind of weird for twins."

Naitanui's mother remains the cornerstone of his being.

He (Nic Naitanui) is a footballer of grace and excitement. He is a young man made from hard yards and opportunity. He is a person who can inspire and educate. And, best of all, he is a footballer of warmth and soul who genuinely wants to make a difference.

He moved out once, but soon returned.

"Mum is a single parent and it's been that for most of the time we've been in Australia," he said. "To have her there, and have her boys there with her, we've kind of been the men in her life as such.

"We've been always trying to help her and I still feel I owe mum because she gave me the opportunity to come to Australia - and to play football."

When he had enough money from footy, he bought his mother a house.

"The one I grew up in was a bit down the hill, and now we're up the hill - and it's a bit better," he said.

He described Midland as having been "really bad".

"You'd have cops, and you still do every now and then, but not as bad any more," he said.

"But you'd have cops coming through and people selling drugs in the street and they'd see boys going to school with knives.

"But living there you don't really take it in too much because you become used to it.

"I don't know, it's sad because you look at your school photos and half the kids are in jail or doing drugs - and they were all better footballers than me."

NAITANUI doesn't shirk his role-model status. Indeed, he craves to be a role model.

He sees kids smiling up at him and remembers how he felt when Dean Cox once visited his school.

"Yeah, the kids love it, even over here in Melbourne," he said.

"It must be because I stand out so much. They know my name and even if they don't they make the noises, 'Nic Naitanuiiiiiiii'.

"The kids are the best thing I get out of it. Some of the guys hate doing all the Auskick stuff, but it's one of the reasons I play football.

"I love seeing the smiles on their faces, because that was me one day, when I saw big Dean Cox come to my school. I loved it.

"And then you meet guys like Juddy and Cousins. I don't know, it's something I love giving back."

Naitanui hopes the ambassador role will help the next generation.

"I take it as my responsibility," he said.

"It's my duty to do it. The kids can relate to me, and they do see that I'm from a different background. Going back to Fiji and Tonga with the AFL has made it hit home even more, seeing those kids wanting to get out of the village and wanting to do something with their lives.

"Growing up in Midland some guys had nothing really to aspire to, and when you see the kids they think, 'This guy has grown up here, did this, did that, so why I can't do it'.

"So, I see it more than a normal job and I'm rapt the AFL gave me the opportunity to do it."

Just 65 games into his blossoming career, Naitanui is a kid in a enormous body, and so excited at his progress.

"They used to tease me because I couldn't kick, or mark ... but I could bounce it pretty well," he said.

He called his improvement "slow and steady" and loves footy so much he didn't want to be away from his club over pre-season.

"I had surgery on my pec tendon, and then I was ready to go. I was running and on the bike, so no real break. I don't believe in them. I got a bit of rest, had four or five days with the multicultural stuff in Fiji and that was enough break for me.

"I just love playing. Some blokes like their rest, but I just like being around the footy club.

"I muck around a lot at the club ... I don't know why some blokes take it so serious. I do take it serious, but I like to have fun.

"Really, it's not that hard a life. I've been with the AFL going to South Africa, and how they live and back home in Fiji is pretty hard. I think we're living the life over here, we're doing what we love, why complain about doing the media and stuff. Just enjoy it. Have fun."

Asked whether anything about his life troubled him, he said: "No". Then he paused and smiled again.

"You know, it was tough for mum to raise two boys on her own, trying to find a house and beds for us to sleep in, and that's why I thank footy because it's given me an opportunity to look back," he said.

"Footy's given us a good life, Australia has given us a good life."