The Selwood-like stat that has this young Blue on track for the Rising Star

Jagga Smith and Harry Dean have been central to rallying the Carlton faithful, the fans’ roar as visceral as it’s been in years when a Smith handball led to Dean’s first AFL goal at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night.

Each is firmly in the running for the AFL Rising Star award, but Smith may have the edge. His elite form puts himon a par with a four-time premiership great for his offensive influence at this stage of his career.

Smith, who sat out the 2025 campaign because of a knee reconstruction, has clocked up 129 score involvements, matching Geelong champion Joel Selwood for the most by a young player 20 games into his career, excluding mature-age recruits.

He has overtaken Jesse Hogan (124 with Melbourne), Cyril Rioli (122 with Hawthorn) and Isaac Heeney (121 for the Swans) in powering to the top of the leaderboard with Selwood, whose influence on the Cats in 2007 was central to their premiership. Selwood was also named the Rising Star that year, edging Scott Pendlebury.

Smith had arguably the most influential match of his young career against the Brisbane Lions, enjoying 29 possessions, including six clearances and two goals when pitted against a premiership-laden midfield, and was named the Robert Walls medallist.

This was the first time he had booted multiple goals in a game, taking his tally for the season to seven – the same number Selwood finished with all those years ago.

As Fox Footy analyst David King has noted, Smith makes good, quick decisions and is “prepared to bite off the risky kick”. His ability to find speed and dish off a snappy handball at a centre ball up was a highlight of his performance against the Lions, helping to ignite the Blues’ running game.

AFL great James Hird said the Oakleigh Chargers product had been integral to allowing Patrick Cripps and Sam Walsh to enjoy season-best form.

“What I liked about Carlton, Jagga Smith, obviously playing well, Walsh and Cripps can actually do their job, they can do what they are best at,” Hird told Nine’s Footy Furnace.

“That’s actually win the ball around the contest, give a good handball and let the other players on the outside [go to work]. They are not having to do it all.”

Hird’s comments are reinforced by more than 15 of Smith’s 26.4 touches per game being uncontested, with 11.5 handball receives. He leads the league in loose ball gets (7.1 per game).

After such a commanding win over the Lions, Blues coach Josh Fraser, understandably, praised his entire youth movement.

“We’ve got exciting youth, really exciting youth. They bring a youthful exuberance to the way they play. ‘Deany’ kicking that goal, you could see what that meant to him and those around him. Jagga has been very consistent for a while now,” Fraser said.

“Lachie Cowan doesn’t get spoken about a lot, but he’s a young player that is so important for us. Billy Wilson is growing his game, Cooper Lord has come in and is playing important roles. And there’s other guys that are performing at a high standard, so I’m really excited about the youth of the group.

“We know we’ve got more work in front of us, but what they’ve been able to bring has elevated our performance across the board. Those guys are as hungry as anyone to get better, the way they’re tipping into their game and investing in their game.”

Dean’s attention to detail has been extolled by fellow defender Jacob Weitering, describing the son of a gun as the “ultimate competitor” who has “some nastiness about him”.

St Kilda coach Ross Lyon was a keen onlooker on Saturday night, and now must find a way to curb a midfield that has helped Fraser to a staggering 9-2 record as caretaker coach when the two teams meet in a finals-shaping blockbuster on Sunday night.

Weitering is pushing for a recall from calf issues, and will look to strengthen his push when the Blues train on Wednesday.

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