Hannah Ewings wins 2022 NAB AFLW Rising Star Award

By ZAC MILBANK

North Adelaide premiership star Hannah Ewings has fittingly been rewarded for her outstanding debut AFLW season with Port Adelaide, winning the competition’s NAB Rising Star Award.

Capping off a stunning year of achievement, the 18-year-old polled 41 votes to edge out Power teammate Abbey Dowrick – who played four SANFLW games for Woodville-West Torrens this year – on 32 votes.

After playing a major role in the Roosters winning the 2022 SANFLW premiership and earning U18 All-Australian honours, Ewings slipped seamlessly onto the AFLW stage where she averaged  14.4 disposals, 6.1 tackles and 2.9 clearances.

Selected by the Power with pick No.3 in the 2022 AFLW Draft, the classy playmaker is set to reward her AFLW club in spades after quickly establishing herself in the centre square while featuring in all 10 matches.

Originally from the Roopena Football Club in Whyalla, Ewings was nominated for the Rising Star Award after her stunning performance in Round 3, where she tallied 21 disposals, 12 contested possessions, five clearances, and four tackles.

Her sensational start in the AFLW came just months after earning selection in The Advertiser SANFLW Team of the Year, placing in the top five of SANFLW’s Best & Fairest and being runner-up in the Roosters’ Club Champion Award.

Ewings, an apprentice chef, attracted the maximum five votes from six of the nine selectors while becoming the first Port Adelaide player to win the AFLW Rising Star in the club’s inaugural season.

Winner of SANFLW’s equivalent in 2020 – the Powerade Breakthrough Player – Ewings is the first South Australian to win the award since Crow Ebony Marinoff claimed honours in the AFLW’s inaugural campaign of 2017.

South Australia’s Georgia Henderson was recognised for her consistent campaign after being named the 2022 AFLW Umpire Rising Star.

Now with four AFLW seasons of experience, the astute goal umpire thrived at elite level this year as she made an appearance in the first two weeks of the AFLW finals series.

Henderson was then named as an emergency for the Preliminary Final between Brisbane and Adelaide at Metricon Stadium.

The criteria for the AFLW Umpire Rising Star was someone who had umpired fewer than 20 AFLW matches at the commencement of the AFLW Season whilst demonstrating the potential to be an umpiring star in all AFL competitions, they have a strong team focus and a commitment to elite standards.