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A shift down back and an injury-free run helped Western Bulldogs young gun Isabel Huntington deliver a season that earned her the AFLW Rising Star award.
Western Bulldogs defender Isabel Huntington has been named the 2020 AFLW Rising Star.
Huntington received 33 of a possible 40 votes from the eight-person voting panel - including the maximum five votes from five panellists - to claim the award ahead of St Kilda's Caitlin Greiser (30 votes) and Georgia Patrikios (24) and Gold Coast's Kalinda Howarth (24).
The 21-year-old learned she'd received the award via a streamed broadcast at home, due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Huntington started her AFLW games as a forward but switched to defence full-time this season under new coach Nathan Burke.
The move paid off in spades as Huntington averaged 13 disposals, 4.8 marks (2.2 contested) and 8.4 intercept possessions across her five games and received her first All-Australian berth.
"I've really loved it and I've got some great people to learn from down there," Huntington told AAP.
"It's been a nice move down and I think it's been able to help me build some confidence back and play with a bit of freedom."
Huntington was nominated for the Rising Star after racking up 15 disposals and six marks against Fremantle in round six.
Her nomination came more than two years after her debut, having endured a plethora of injuries.
A standout junior footballer, Huntington suffered a broken right leg, then a ruptured left ACL in consecutive years but was still selected at Pick 1 in the 2017 AFLW draft.
She then tore her right ACL just two games into her first season in 2018, then had an injury-interrupted 2019, and admitted it took time to regain confidence in her body.
* AFLW RISING STAR LEADERBOARD (5-4-3-2-1 voting format)
1. Isabel Huntington (Western Bulldogs) 33 votes
2. Caitlin Greiser (St Kilda) 30
3. Georgia Patrikios (St Kilda), Kalinda Howarth (Gold Coast) 24
4. Jesse Wardlaw (Brisbane) 5
5. Grace Egan (Carlton) 2
6. Lucy McEvoy (Carlton), Roxanne Roux (Fremantle) 1.
