With two rounds left to play in 2016, the race for the NAB Rising Star Award is down to two players, Callum Mills of the Sydney Swans and Caleb Daniel of the Western Bulldogs.
Mills is surely now a lock-in for the Ron Evans medal if Saturday night is anything to go by, and you can see why Sydney were keen to lock down their second Academy graduate in as many years.
Much was made of the Swans’ 15 goal-to-four demolition on the Saints on Saturday night, including the return to form for Buddy Franklin and the midfield dominance of Hannebery, Kennedy and Parker.
Further, Aliir Aliir is now clearly a cult hero, and Dane Rampe and ‘Reg’ Grundy keep marching on in their understated way towards deserved All-Australian nominations.
In this mix, what separates Mills from the rest of the ‘class of 2016′ is that he is a centrepiece in the stingiest defence in the competition.
He has had to play a number of roles, on occasion as a key defender or performing in a rebounding flanker. His ability to lay key tackles and courageously go back with the flight of the ball are outstanding traits, topped off with a disposal efficiency of 78 per cent for the season.
However, and most impressively for a first season player, he has improved and grown as the season has gone on. Saturday night’s 27 possessions and five scoring involvements were testimony to his class and how he has built into 2016.
Of the other candidates, Caleb Daniel is yapping at the heels of the nineteen year-old Swan.
Unlike Mills, Daniel played ten matches last year, and this season has seen a marked improvement, nearly doubling in output across most of the key stats. An average of 13 disposals in 2015 has increased to 21 with a 77 per cent disposal efficiency.
The shortest player in the AFL has also had to play through a season with an injury ravaged side, and has been a beacon of consistency.
In many ways, Daniel epitomises the Dog’s superb running game, and he is an important cog in the wonderful overlap run the Bulldogs create through the centre, where his headgear is a signature stand-out in the thick of the Doggies’ run and carry.
Of the remaining young guns, honourable mentions to Jacob Weitering of Carlton and Darcy Parish of the Bombers. They have shown they certainly have bright futures, but have fallen off the pace at times in poor sides as the year has gone on.
So in what is shaping as another serious tilt at the flag for the red and white, the NAB Rising Star looks like the first medallion heading to the Harbour City in 2016.
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