Belle Dawes has been named a NAB AFLW Rising Star nominee for her stunning performance in the Lions’ round one victory over Richmond.

Second-year midfielder Dawes earned the nomination for her 21-disposal effort in the Lions’ 29- point victory over the Tigers at the Swinburne Centre on Sunday.

It was comfortably the Sunshine Coaster’s most prolific day at AFLW level, surpassing her previous best of 12 possessions.

Last week every AFLW captain was polled on a series of questions, among them their tip for this year’s Rising Star.

Lions’ captain Emma Zielke had no hesitation nominating Dawes after her standout pre-season form and the 19-year-old wasted no time backing up the skipper’s confidence.

She also dragged down five marks and laid three tackles in a dominant midfield display.

“It is a real honour to be nominated,’’ she said.

“It was a great way to start the season for our team, the girls all played well and I’m very happy to have contributed to that, it will give me a lot of confidence.’’

The former Brisbane Lions Hyundai Help For Kids Academy player was drafted with pick 15 in the 2015 AFLW draft.

St Kilda’s Tarni White, a former teammate at the Lions Academy, was the other nomination out of the weekend.