GIANTS Number one draft pick Lachie Whitfield has capped off an impressive debut year by finishing seventh in the NAB AFL Rising Star Award.
Gold Coast's Jaeger O'Meara won the award from Adelaide's Brad Crouch, with Port Adelaide's Oliver Wines finishing third.
O'Meara polled 44 of a possible 45 votes to win by 13 votes from Crouch, with Wines finishing on 26 votes ahead of North Melbourne's Aaron Mullett and Sydney Swans Tom Mitchell tied on 11 votes in equal fourth.
Whitfield played 19 games in his debut season and averaged 17 possessions a game. He received a nomination for his performance against Carlton in round 10. Adam Tomlinson and Zac Williams were also nominated for the prestigious award.
O'Meara was the strong favourite heading into Wednesday's Rising Star announcement in Melbourne after a stellar debut season when he played all 22 of the Suns' games and averaged 21.6 disposals and kicked 16 goals.
The 19-year-old West Australian and Crouch entered the AFL under plenty of fanfare this year after the pair were the respective No. 1 and 2 picks in the 2011 GWS mini-draft.
