Dyson Sharp has become the third Essendon youngster to be nominated for the Telstra Rising Star Award in season 2026.
In just his 10th career game, the 18-year-old starred in a drought breaking win over GWS on Sunday night, accumulating a career-high 23 disposals and ramping up the pressure in the engine room.
Among all Dons, he had the most ground ball gets (10), was second for contested possessions (12), equal second for clearances (seven) and fourth for tackles (five) going head-to-head against experienced midfielders including Clayton Oliver and Finn Callaghan.
Sharp’s grunt work helped propel an emotional result for the Dons, who claimed their first win on home soil in over 420 days to earn a long overdue reward for the Club’s diehard faithful.
The youngster played a critical role down the stretch with several repeat efforts for his boyhood Club and will be hoping the group can take confidence out of it in the final rounds.
Sharp is now the third member of the side’s 2025 draft haul to earn a Rising Star nomination after fellow first rounders Sully Robey and Jacob Farrow, who each were equally outstanding on the weekend.
Essendon have now blooded seven Rising Star nominations since the beginning of 2025. Their named 23 on the weekend was the youngest fielded side in the competition so far this year.
