Western Bulldogs young gun Mitch Wallis sits amongst a fancied few that will challenge for the 2012 NAB AFL Rising Star Award, with the coveted prize set to be announced early this afternoon at an event at Crown Palladium.

While Wallis was heavily favoured through the middle of the season to take home trophy, it is an Adelaide Crow with a close connection to the Kennel that is fancied to carry a slight edge into this afternoon’s vote count.
 
Daniel Talia, brother of Western Bulldogs’ young defender Michael, has firmed with pundits as the frontrunner for the award on the back of a breakout season down back for the Crows in which he didn’t miss a game.

BulldogsTV asks the current playing group who will win the Rising Star Award. Watch on the media player above. 

Drafted from the Calder Cannons and in his third year in Adelaide, Talia cemented his spot in the Crows back six this season - following the departures of Phil Davis and Nathan Bock - and has garnered high praise for his stifling roles on some of the AFL’s powerhouse forwards.
 
While his impact hasn’t been seen on the stats sheet - Talia has averaged just 8.2 disposals a game -  the 20 year-old’s close-checking style and strength to match and overpower the game’s elite in one-on-one contests earned him the Rising Star nomination in Round 12 this season and earmarked him as highly capable key-defender of the future. 

At Whitten Oval, Mitch Wallis has emerged as a key component of the Bulldogs midfield in 2012 in just his second season in AFL ranks. Gaining the Rising Star nomination on the back of the Dogs’ round four victory against Melbourne, the 19-year-old finished the season as the highest possession winner amongst eligible Rising Star nominees this year averaging a touch over 22 disposals per game. 

Tweet your support for Mitch Wallis during today's AFL Rising Star ceremony with the hashtag #Wallis4TheWin.
 
His influence around the stoppages - averaging 6.8 clearances in the final five rounds of 2012 - and composure with ball in hand has all but confirmed that he will be integral member of the Bulldogs midfield of the future.
 
The father-son selection’s year on year improvement from his debut season in 2011 has been largely impressive averaging 10.3 more disposals per game, 3.5 more clearances, 6.1 more contested possessions as well as proving handy around goals.
 
Wallis’s disposal efficiency at 77% also rates highly in compared to other Rising Star nominees, proving he finds not only plenty of the ball but his usage has been top rate.

In addition to Wallis and Talia, expansion club Greater Western Sydney has a bumper crop of young talent likely to challenge for the award, collecting eight nominations across the 23 round home and away season. Of the eight nominees, Toby Greene, Jeremy Cameron and Adam Treloar have been the standouts.
 
Emerging key forward Jeremy Cameron has stamped his name as one for the future, after a debut year that yielded him 29 goals and saw him develop as focal point of the Giants’s forward structure, proving more than adept at holding his own against some of the competition’s most seasoned defenders.
 
Treloar also stamped his authority as one to watch. Highly consistent across his 18 senior games, Treloar averaged just over 21 disposals in 2012 producing a career high 37 touches against Collingwood in round 18 - a performance for which he received his Rising Star nomination.

From the trio, Greene was recently ruled ineligible in the race for Rising Star award following a one match suspension.

Completing the top five in contenders for the Rising Star award is Geelong’s Steven Motlop, who following in the footsteps of older brothers Shannon and Daniel, is beginning to make a name for himself.

Playing 21 games in Season 2012 after only managing five in his first two years on the Cats list, Motlop has emerged a valuable addition to the experienced Geelong side with his goal sense and run.
 
Motlop is ranked second in the Rising Star race for Inside 50s, second for total goals and third for goal assists this season.

The 2012 NAB AFL Rising Star will be announced at approximately 2:45pm this afternoon at Melbourne’s Crown Palladium. Results from the vote count will be posted to westernbulldogs.com.au shortly after.