Ball-winning Carlton midfielder Jagga Smith has claimed the Round 1 Rising Star nomination, after a blistering start to his career in earnest.
After watching from the stands for all of last year after the cruelest of pre-season ACL injuries, the Oakleigh Chargers product has averaged almost 30 disposals, three clearances and more than seven score involvements from his first two starts at the level.
After an eye-catching first-up performance against Sydney, the ball magnet exploded in the first term of Carlton's encounter with his boyhood club, Richmond, last Thursday. The 20-year-old had 16 disposals and seven score involvements in that stanza alone, helping set the tone for his side in a match they held on to win by just four points.
Smith has gone about his work with a perceivable chip on his shoulder, clearly keen to make up for lost time.
This week's nomination was hotly contested, with standout performances across the league. Fellow Blues youngster Harry Dean turned in an impressive performance in a key defensive post, while Smith also beat out a standout performance from Western Bulldogs youngster Lachlan Jaques, who was influential across half-back in his side's demolition of bitter rivals, GWS.
