It hasn’t taken long for James Aish and Lewy Taylor to establish themselves as regular members of the Brisbane Lions’ senior side.

Not only have Aish and Taylor both received AFL Rising Star Nominations already this season – in Rounds 6 and 9 respectively – but the pair are also expected to poll well in the award at season’s end.

Last Saturday night against North Melbourne, Aish and Taylor combined for 46 possessions (23 apiece), 19 marks, 14 tackles, two goals, and two goal assists.

It was a phenomenal effort from both teenagers who are still only halfway through their first year of AFL footy.

You need only look as far as the official AFL Player Ratings to see how effective they’ve been.

Aish (121 rating points) and Taylor (120) rank second and third respectively as the highest rated first-year players, behind Collingwood’s Tom Langdon (135).

After being afforded a rest last weekend, Aish proved the big mover jumping from fourth to second on the back of 18.2 points against the Kangaroos – the highest individual total of any first year player in Round 15.

He leapfrogged exciting ‘Mozzie Squad’ member Taylor in the process.

Fellow draftees Darcy Gardiner and Nick Robertson also appear in the AFL Player Ratings’ top 20 first-year players – at 18th and 20th respectively overall.

The Top 20 first-year players, according to the official AFL Player Ratings, are as follows upon the completion of Round 15:

433 (overall rank in AFL). Tom Langdon (Collingwood) – 135 rating points
455. James Aish (Lions) - 121
456. Lewy Taylor (Lions) - 120
459. Luke Dunstan (St Kilda) - 118
474. Kade Kolodashnij (Gold Coast) - 108
480. Luke McDonald (Kangaroos) - 105
502. Josh Kelly (Giants) - 95
512. Jack Billings (St Kilda) - 87
516. Zach Merrett (Essendon) - 82
525. Patrick Ambrose (Essendon) - 76
532. Marcus Bontempelli (Bulldogs) - 73
546. Jarman Impey (Port Adelaide) - 66
549. Jay Kennedy-Harris (Melbourne) - 65
567. Sam Gray (Port Adelaide) - 56
581. Sean Lemmens (Gold Coast) - 48
583. Christian Salem (Melbourne) - 47
587. Matt Crouch (Adelaide) - 45
594. Darcy Gardiner (Lions) - 41
597. Sam Lloyd (Richmond) - 39
600. Nick Robertson (Lions) - 36