Connor Rozee becomes Port Adelaide’s second Rising Star runner-up as Sam Walsh falls one short of maximum votes
Port Adelaide’s Connor Rozee has finishes runner-up to Carlton’s Sam Walsh in the 2019 AFL Rising Star award, drawing comparisons to former Power star Chad Wingard.
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First-year sensation Connor Rozee has become the second Port Adelaide player to finish runner-up in the AFL Rising Star award after Carlton’s Sam Walsh was rewarded for his record-breaking season in Melbourne on Friday.
The Blues No. 1 draft pick polled 54 of a maximum 55 votes — the most ever in a Rising Star count, eclipsing Collingwood’s Jaidyn Stephenson’s 52 last year — to edge the Power’s No. 5 selection by 12.
Rozee polled 42 votes to finish second — 14 ahead of third-placed Sydney Stack from Richmond.
Western Bulldogs midfielder Bailey Smith was fourth with 21, with Geelong’s Gryan Miers (five) a long way back in fifth spot.
Port’s other nominee, wingman Xavier Duursma, polled one vote.
Former Western Bulldogs ruckman Luke Darcy was the only judge to deny Walsh a perfect score, instead awarding Rozee five votes to Walsh’s four.
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Rozee was awarded four votes by nine of the 11 judges.
The only judge to rate him lower was triple Brisbane premiership player Chris Johnson, who strangely gave Rozee one behind Walsh, Stack, Smith and Tiger Liam Baker.
Port has had two previous winners of the best young player award — Michael Wilson in 1997 and Danyle Pearce in 2006.
Its only previous runner-up was Nick Stevens in 1998 after he finished second to North Melbourne’s Byron Pickett, who would later win the Norm Smith Medal for the Power in its 2004 grand final triumph.
Midfielder Walsh became the first Blues player to win the Rising Star after a spectacular season where he recorded the most disposals by a first-year player since Champion Data started keeping statistics in 1999.
Walsh’s 554 shattered the previous record of 539 held by Greater Western Sydney star Toby Greene in 2012.
Utility Rozee, 19, won Port’s goalkicking with 29 and would have won the award in most other years but he ran into a player who had a season for the ages.
Rozee was so good that Power development coach Chad Cornes described him as “probably the best first-year player I have seen in all my time in footy’’.
Cornes said Rozee was a more professional version of dual All-Australian Chad Wingard, who was traded to Hawthorn last year after being a best and fairest winner and runner-up at Port.
“Connor is just so agile, so quick, very skilful and good above his head, so he pretty much ticks every box,’’ Cornes told Sportsday SA.
“I wasn’t at the club (Port) when Chaddy first got drafted (in 2011) but obviously I followed it really closely and spoke to Kane, my brother, a fair bit about him.
“They are very similar in the way they play but Connor, and Chaddy would probably admit, works harder and is probably more professional, has more attention to detail during the week.
“Chaddy’s been a brilliant player for us and going forward at Hawthorn but I just think the way Connor approaches things he might have him covered in the long run.’’
The versatile Rozee cut his teeth as a forward in his debut season but Cornes believes he will move into the midfield next year.
“Every line coach at the club wants him in their area, so it’s going to be a battle next year to keep him forward,’’ he said.
“The midfield coaches will be pushing pretty hard to get him in there.’’