Seth Harris Earns NTFL 2023-24 Round 2 Rising Star Nomination
After a brave performance against the team that is currently ranked first in the league, a recruit from St. Mary's College who hails from the Mornington Peninsula was selected as the Round 2 Rising Star. Take a look at all of the nominees.
After a brave performance in the second round of the NTFL, a young man of 18 years of age who traveled all the way from the Mornington Peninsula on his own to compete in the league was given the Rising Star nomination.
After making the trek up to St. Mary's all by himself in a car without air conditioning during the preseason, Seth Harris joined the team in the middle of the preseason and has immediately established himself as a hardworking club man.
Following in the footsteps of two-time winner of the Dennis Dunn, Jackson Calder, and Sam Fowler, he is the most recent connection to be made between Mornington and the Green Machine.
In Round 2, he played against Waratah, the team that had won the championship the previous year. During that game, he racked up 26 possessions, four clearances, four tackles, and five inside 50s.
His performance left his coach, Anthony Vallejo, quite impressed, and he predicted that the young player would be one to watch closely as the rest of the season progresses.
"He's a young kid who moved up by himself in a car with no air con, so it's safe to say that he's pretty committed," remarked Vallejo.
"The first thing that stood out to us about him was his level of fitness. Although we have some really talented runners on our team, including Dylan Landt and Kieren Parnell, he was often able to finish in front of them.
We've seen him play through the middle of the field, so we know he's capable of playing the back end of the defense as well. He's a really brave young man.
"For such a young kid, he's got a really mature head on his shoulders, and he uses the ball really well on both his left and right foot,"
"He is integrated into the culture of the club, he never misses a training session, and he even showed up for some Auskick sessions and did some extra work around the club."
While all was going on, Shanie Lami Lami, who plays for the Tiwi Bombers, was given the honor of being nominated for the Rising Star award for the Women's Premier League.
The young player was outstanding in her team's first game of the season, which took place at the home of the Crocodiles, where they prevailed by a razor-thin margin over Southern Districts. The player kicked two goals and three behinds.
And as the season progresses, she will be an important player for the Bombers women to keep an eye on as they strive to make it to the NTFL women's finals for the first time.
ROUND 1 NOMINEES
An promising Waratah prospect was nominated for Round 1 Rising Star after scoring four goals in his maiden game with the top league team. This performance earned him the nomination.
Dwayne Kerinaiua, then 18 years old, received his first taste of premier league action during the 2022-2023 season while playing for the Tiwi Bombers in the competition. At the same time, he was competing for the Waratah under-18s team.
However, in Round 1, he decided to play first grade for the Tahs, which is when his x-factor skill was on full display in the form of a four-goal performance.
He did an outstanding job filling in on the forward line, which also included his close friend Anthony Munkara, who was originally listed with the Essendon Bombers, and the ever-present menace Jayden Magro.
And during the resounding victory over Southern Districts, it wasn't just his goal kicking that left an impression on coach Ryan Ayres; it was also his speed both on and off the ball, as well as his tackle pressure.
According to Ayres, "He's an extremely, exciting talent and a natural footballer like all the footballers from Tiwi are," which is something that can be said about all of the footballers from Tiwi.
"He's got those Tiwi ties, but he's decided to play with us, which is terrific. It's good to have him in the Waratah system, and it's great that he's chosen to play with us.
"He kicked four goals in a forward line that worked well together, but in addition to that, his tackle pressure was elite, and he has genuine leg speed,"
Kerinaiua's skills were on display in a triumph for Waratah's under-18s team before he made the jump to the premier league squad.
Ayres remarked, "He's an absolute freak, he kicked all five goals to get best on ground."
After that, he played on our squad and kicked a couple goals against the Central Australian representative team, so he's a promising player.
He "has enough talent to challenge himself and push for bigger and better things" and "it's one thing playing for Waratah, but I think he's got enough talent to challenge himself and push for bigger and better things."
Two other promising young players, Timothy Kerinaiua and Xavier Blitner, also stood out in the game against the Tahs.
During this time, Marika Carlton demonstrated why she was considered to be such a promising player coming up through the junior grades by scoring three goals in a match against the Wanderers. She was awarded the women's rising star award.
Since she was named the best and fairest player in both the under-16s and under-18s championships the previous year, Carlton has been one of the youngsters in the women's competition who has garnered the most attention and anticipation.
The Palmerston youngster also won the best-on-ground awards for both of his team's premiership victories, and he is now the first nominee for the 2023-24 Rising Star award.