Jake Lever has become the second Crow in a month to receive a NAB Rising Star nomination.
Lever, 19, was recognised for his standout performance in Adelaide’s win over Gold Coast.
Playing just his seventh AFL game, the composed defender showed maturity beyond his years and experience, standing up in the absence of All Australian and Crows Club Champion, Daniel Talia.
Lever amassed a career-high 24 possessions at an elite efficiency rate of 91.7 per cent.
He demonstrated his ability to read the play, winning more intercept possessions (14) than any player in the competition in Round 17. The competitive teenager took a team-high 10 marks, including six intercept marks, and generated an equal-round high seven rebound 50ms.
Amongst players eligible for the Rising Star, Lever isranked first in rebound 50ms per game.
Interim Coach Scott Camporeale was full of praise for Lever after the game on Saturday.
“Lever is growing week by week,” Camporeale said.
“He’s going to be a 200-game player of this footy club.
“He’s a real leader. He’s a competitor and I just love the way he goes about it.”
Recruited from the Calder Cannons with Adelaide’s first pick (No.14 overall) in last year’s National Draft, Lever made his AFL debut against Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium in Round Six.
By his own admission, the debut game came earlier than expected for the former Romsey junior, who missed all of last season after rupturing his ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) while training with the AIS-AFL Academy in December, 2013.
He didn’t lose any fans during his rehabilitation, impressing with his dedication and professionalism. Lever, who captained Vic Metro as a 17-year-old, also showed great leadership during his time out of the game, assuming coaching roles with Vic Metro and TAC Cup team, the Calder Cannons.
Lever is the ninth Crow to receive a Rising Star nomination in the last three-and-a-half seasons, following Charlie Cameron, who earned the nod in Round 13 this year, Luke Brown, Brad Crouch, Matt Crouch, Sam Kerridge, Rory Laird, Sam Shaw and 2012 winner Talia. Only talented-laden newcomers Greater Western Sydney (14) has received more nominations than Adelaide since 2012.
Matt Crouch, Riley Knight, Rory Atkins and Jake Kelly are among the other Adelaide players eligible for a nomination in 2015. See the complete list of Crows Rising Star nominees.
2015 Rising Star Nominees
Round One – Kamdyn McIntosh (Richmond)
Round Two – Mitch Honeychurch (Western Bulldogs)
Round Three – Isaac Heeney (Sydney Swans)
Round Four – Patrick Cripps (Carlton)
Round Five – Adam Saad (Gold Coast)
Round Six – Cory Gregson (Geelong)
Round Seven – Billy Hartung (Hawthorn)
Round Eight – Cameron McCarthy (GWS)
Round Nine – Jesse Hogan (Melbourne)
Round 10 – Angus Brayshaw (Melbourne)
Round 11 – Tim Broomhead (Collingwood)
Round 12 – Tom Boyd (Western Bulldogs)
Round 13 – Charlie Cameron (Adelaide)
Round 14 – Jack Lonie (St Kilda)
Round 15 – Dom Sheed (West Coast)
Round 16 – Touk Miller (Gold Coast)
Round 17 – Jake Lever (Adelaide)
