CAPTAINS are clearly impressed by the potential of Sam Powell-Pepper on the back of three JLT Community Series appearances, voting him their second most-likely player to win this year’s NAB AFL Rising Star award.
Powell-Pepper, 18, played in each of the Power’s pre-season games and was impressive in the middle, working with seasoned players like Ollie Wines and Paddy Ryder to clear the ball from the middle.
The midfielder drew three votes from other club captains, one behind Essendon's Andrew McGrath and tied with GWS Giant Tim Taranto.
Previous NAB AFL Rising Star winners from Port Adelaide include Michael Wilson (1997) and Danyle Pearce (2005).
Captains' NAB AFL Rising Star predictions
Andrew McGrath (Essendon, four votes), Sam Powell-Pepper (Port Adelaide, three votes), Tim Taranto (GWS, three votes), Jacob Hopper (GWS, two votes), Hugh McCluggage (Brisbane Lions, two votes), Jack Bowes (Gold Coast, one vote), Sean Darcy (Fremantle, one vote), Caleb Marchbank (Carlton, one vote), Sam Petrevski-Seton (Carlton, one vote).
