Tara Murray
A knee injury didn’t derail former Montana Ham for long as she received an AFLW rising star nomination in just her second game.
Ham along with Carlton’s Keeley Skeeper were the round four nominees for the award which recognises the best young talent in the competition.
Ham, who grew up in Hillside and played with Keilor recently, had a team-high 20 disposals, four marks, and five tackles in the Sydney Swans’ round four loss to Port Adelaide.
She also had four clearances and 421 metres gained and 11 contested possessions.
Swans coach Scott Gowans said the 18-year-old “showed the way” for the Sydney Swans in her return from injury in round one.
Ham hurt her knee in round one with initial concerns that it was a serious injury. She missed just two games.
“She’s going to be a really good player. Mon’s post clearance stuff and her ability to break contests were excellent,” Gowans said.
“It’s a good thing for the competition that there’s a player like Montana Ham playing so well early on. It gives the fans something to come and watch.”
Ham was taken with the first pick in the AFLW draft.
The 180cm midfielder received All-Australian honours and was named Vic Metro most valuable player at the national championships.
She was also judged the most valuable player for the National AFLW Academy side in their game against the under-23 All-Stars.
Each nominee throughout the season will be awarded $500 prize money from NAB, with NAB also awarding junior clubs of each nominee with a $1,000 cash recognition award.
