By JARROD POTTER
EVERY week is a battle for Hawthorn midfielder Billy Hartung to keep his spot, but an AFL NAB Rising Star nomination dangling around his neck should give the former Dandenong Stingrays’ speedster a little breathing room.
Hartung, 19, originally from Red Hill, has held his spot in the back-to-back AFL premiership side and continues to rack up possessions and showcase that elite speed.
Picking up 22 disposals, six marks and a goal – Hartung was named the rising star for Round 7 and was excited to gain the recognition on the back of a stellar team effort.
“Yeah I was pretty pleased to be named NAB Rising Star for this round,” Hartung said on the Hawthorn website.
“It’s actually a good achievement for a personal level as well, but it was also a good team performance on the weekend.”
The former Dandenong Stingrays co-captain admitted he feels the pressure of selection week-to-week and hopes his efforts across his current AFL stint have given Hawthorn plenty of reasons to keep him up in the AFL ranks.
“I think I’m pretty happy to have got 12 games now within the two years of being here and obviously I want to play more AFL and that’s my aim this year to obviously keep my spot and try to play consistent AFL week to week,” Hartung said.
“Still feel even after the weekend’s performance I haven’t cemented my spot thus far and with a lot of good players coming back it will be even harder to keep my spot.
“I’m always playing for my spot, so that’s how I’m playing my footy this year.”
Hartung’s Hawks had a grand-final rematch against Sydney on Saturday evening going down 9.15 (69) to Sydney 11.7 (73).
