Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti’s impressive first season in the AFL has been capped off with two awards at the Crichton Medal.

The 23 year old took home the Lindsay Griffiths Rising Star award and the Cheer Squad award. 

McDonald-Tipungwuti spent three years in the VFL with Essendon after playing with Gippsland in the TAC Cup. 

He was overlooked for several drafts, before earning a spot on the Bombers Rookie List at the end of 2015. 

“He has been remarkable,” Essendon Coach John Worsfold told Triple M earlier this week.

“There is a lot of people when I first was appointed that mentioned him and said this kid plays in the VFL and he’s a bit of a fan favourite in the VFL – he hadn’t really been consistent or dominated but they saw something in him.

“Then he came and sat down with me and introduced himself and said ‘I really want to play AFL footy’.

“Straight away you could see that he meant it.

“He put all of the things into place to get himself there and he’s been great this year.”

McDonald-Tipungwuti played 21 games this season, mostly in defence.

But he also played in the forward line on a handful of occasions and kicked four goals against Carlton in the final game of the season. 

He averaged 15 disposals (78.3% efficiency), five contested possessions, 3.7 score involvements, four marks and three tackles.