COACH FEELS NELSON STILL UNDERRATED DESPITE DOMINANCE

DUAL West Perth fairest and best winner Shane Nelson could very well have taken his game to another level again so far in 2015 and Falcons coach Bill Monaghan feels it's time he got the recognition he deserves for consistently outstanding performances.

Nelson shared the Breckler Medal in West Perth's premiership year of 2013 with Andrew Strijk as just a 20-year-old where he averaged 27 possessions a game and then racked up 36 in an outstanding grand final performance in the win over East Perth.

Then again in 2014, he improved even further averaging over 31 disposals a game, including a high of 52 in the final around, and that saw him finish up as the sole winner of the Breckler Medal while also finishing as runner-up in the Sandover Medal to teammate Aaron Black.

And now so far in 2015, the recently turned 22-year-old has been outstanding leading the way in the middle for West Perth despite being tagged regularly by the opposition and targeted physically.

He continues to work tirelessly, win the footy in close and tight, dominate clearances and get the Falcons moving forward and finding ways to get the ball to the damaging players like Black, Rohan Kerr and Strijk to do what they do best.

So far in 2015, Nelson is averaging almost 33 possessions a game having never collected less than the 20 he had against Perth in Round 3, but four times he has racked up more than 30 touches and twice he has gathered 43 including in Saturday's remarkable come from behind win over East Perth at HBF Arena.

Considering Nelson's small stature, the fact that he gets tagged, has remarkable consistency and a work rate that is unmatched not to mention an uncanny ability to win the ball in tight and dominate at stoppages, Monaghan is somewhat surprised he is still criticised.

Nelson's best work is done in congested situations and with the Falcons having some outstanding running players who can kick the ball long and effectively, he is at his best when winning the hard ball and getting it to those types.

The fact that some critics still like to point out that Nelson's kicking efficiency might not be as elite as a teammate like Strijk is becoming a frustration for Monaghan who believes Nelson deserves to be recognised as one of, if not the, best players in the WAFL at the moment.

"There are always people with conflicting views over how Shane goes but we are being highly critical of a guy who can find it 45 times, have 11 clearances and eight tackles. They are like season stats for me when I played and he gets them in one game," Nelson said.

"And he generally only plays 70 per cent of the game as well. We expect him to do things offensively and defensively as well, so it's not as though we just send him out there to find as much footy as he can and not do anything else. If we did, the numbers he could rack up might be scary.

"We are fairly hard on Nelly and around stoppages he is very good. I think people need to stop judging Shane on the gut feel of what they feel happens on the day. I am consistently amazed with how good he is when I watch him back on tape because watching live you miss the work he does in the clinches and around the stoppages.

"I dare say that his hands in traffic and in congestion are as good as we've seen, and that's for someone who only weighs 75 kilos, gets tagged every week and run into off the ball, he just keeps getting up and finding the ball. He is an exceptionally good player and people need to give him more credit rather than focus on a couple of areas he can improve on."