Crows youngster Jake Lever has been rewarded for an outstanding debut season, polling in the AFL’s 2015 Rising Star ceremony in Melbourne on Wednesday.
Lever attracted two votes to claim eighth place in the count, won by Melbourne forward Jesse Hogan.
Charlie Cameron, who earned a Rising Star nomination in Adelaide’s win over Brisbane in Round 13, was overlooked in the voting.
Demon Hogan becomes the first key forward since Nick Riewoldt in 2002 to claim the prestigious Ron Evans Medal.
He polled 49 votes to win from Carlton's Patrick Cripps, who scored 41 votes.
West Coast's Dom Sheed was third, making it a 1-2-3 result for West Australian-raised players.Swan Isaac Heeney was fourth, with Demon Angus Brayshaw fifth.
After his 2014 campaign was wiped out by a frustrating back injury, Hogan delivered on the fever-pitch hype by booting 44 majors in his debut season.
The Demons' spearhead relished the competitive one-on-one battles and ranked third in the League for contested marks and eighth for marks inside 50.
He was held goalless only once in his 20 appearances this season, despite regularly contending with the best defenders in the AFL.
The 195cm Claremont product made the most of his opportunities, with his goalkicking accuracy (62 per cent) better than any of the top 10 players in the Coleman Medal race.
He bagged his first five-goal haul in a loss to St Kilda in his 10th career match and booted more goals in his first full season than some of the greatest modern-day forwards, including Wayne Carey (38), Jonathan Brown (38) and Riewoldt (21).
Hogan, who was secured by the Demons with pick No.2 in the 2012 mini-draft, was nominated for the Rising Star in Round Nine after slotting two goals against Port Adelaide in Alice Springs.
He is Melbourne's second Rising Star winner, following in the footsteps of key defender Jared Rivers (2004).
In addition to the Ron Evans Medal, Hogan takes home a $20,000 investment portfolio from sponsor NAB.
The judging panel consisted of Gillon McLachlan (chairman), Kevin Bartlett, Luke Darcy, Mark Evans, Danny Frawley, Glen Jakovich, Cameron Ling, Matthew Richardson, Warren Tredrea and Kevin Sheehan.
Daniel Talia (2012) is Adelaide’s only winner of the Rising Star award. Three Crows, Brad Crouch (2013), Andy Otten (2009) and Brett Burton (1999) have finished runner-up.
Matt Crouch was Adelaide’s only Rising Star nominee last season.
Full 2015 Rising Star votes
Jesse Hogan 49
Patrick Cripps 41
Dom Sheed 27
Isaac Heeney 12
Angus Brayshaw 8
Touk Miller 6
Adam Saad 3
Jake Lever 2
Jordan De Goey 1
Jackson Thurlow 1
Crows Rising Star nominees
Round 13
Charlie Cameron (Adelaide)
DOB: 5/7/1994
Height: 184cm
Weight: 75kg
Junior clubs: Newman Saints (WA)/Swan Districts (WAFL)
2015 games: 20
Goals: 27
Kicks: 138
Marks: 57
Handballs: 70
Drafted as a rookie, Cameron showed he was well suited to the AFL from his first game. His speed and tackling in the forward 50 brought another dimension to Adelaide's forward line this year, while his goalkicking makes him a constant threat.
Round 17
Jake Lever (Adelaide)
DOB: 5/3/1996
Height: 194cm
Weight: 85kg
Junior clubs: Romsey (Vic)/Calder U18
2015 games: 12
Goals: 0
Kicks: 108
Marks: 60
Handballs: 56
The defender made his mark at Adelaide with his competitiveness in defence despite missing all of his last under-18 season with an ACL injury. His leadership is highly rated and he could one day captain the Crows.
