Melbourne midfielder Jack Viney wins Rising Star Award nomination for Round 21

MELBOURNE hard-nut Jack Viney admits his introduction to league football has been tougher than he imagined during the pre-season.

Jack Viney

MELBOURNE hard-nut Jack Viney admits his introduction to league football this season has been tougher than he imagined during the pre-season.

He missed a seven-week period with a foot injury, saw the sacking of coach Mark Neeld and never dreamed the side would be on the end of so many thrashings.

A father/son selection, Viney became the club’s first NAB Rising Star nomination for the season with his standout game in the most difficult of circumstances when Fremantle thrashed Melbourne by 95 points at the MCG last Sunday. 

SEE ALL THIS YEAR'S NOMINEES BELOW - AND WHO HAS MISSED OUT

As rugged as his father and former Melbourne captain Todd who played 233 games, 19 year-old Jack has based his game on the same natural instinct to win the ball at any costs.

“From all reports dad was a bit of hard-nut and all that stuff and I’ve played that way since I’ve been a little kid,” he said.

“I always had to play up a year because I was always a bit too physical for my own year levels.”

Just as he’s adopted his father’s toughness for the contest, Viney loves Melbourne and said while the season had been a shock to a lot of people, he expects the club to much better in 2014.

While he says his looking forward to his second season, he doesn’t hide how tough it’s been so far.

“It’s tough because your team is not getting its hands on the footy as much and there’s not as many opportunities I guess and there are limited opportunities to impact the game,” he said

“I would know too many first years players, besides Jimmy Toumpas and Dean Kemp, who have faced so much and it’s fair to say we are maturing quite quickly as players and people.”

And it’s difficult for Viney not to take his work home to his father, mother Meghan and younger brother, Max.

While his father is the club’s manager of player development and strategy, teammates Jimmy Toumpas and Jesse Hogan, who will make his debut for the club next season, live with the Viney family.

2013 RISING STAR AWARD NOMINEES

R1 Oliver Wines (PA)
R2 Aaron Mullett (NM)
R3 Jed Anderson (Haw)
R4 George Horlin-Smith (Geel)
R5 Jaeger O'Meara (GC)
R6 Brad Hill (Haw)
R7 Nick Vlastuin (Rich)
R8 Jackson Macrae (WB)
R9 Sam Kerridge (Adel)
R10 Lachie Whitfield (GWS)
R11 Tom Mitchell (Syd)
R12 Sam Mayes (BL)
R13 Jake Neade (PA)
R14 Brad Crouch (Adel)
R15 Michael Talia (WB)
R16 Tom Nicholls (GC)
R17 Adam Tomlinson (GWS)
R18 Marley Williams (Coll)
R19 Zachary Williams (GWS)
R20 Rory Laird (Adel)
R21 Jack Viney (Melb)

YET TO RECEIVE A NOMINATION

Troy Menzel (Carl)
Brodie Grundy (Coll)
Joe Daniher (Ess)
Jack Newnes (StK)
Lachie Hunter (WB)
Nathan Hrovat (WB)
Jake Stringer (WB)

RISING STAR CRITERIA

Nominees must be aged under 21 at January 1, 2013 and not have played more than 10 matches before this season.