The Deniliquin community knows how much of a football star Raymond Murphy is, and now the whole Picola Football Netball League does too.
Raymond was awarded the district’s overall football ‘Rising Star’ award at the league presentation evening on Monday, after being selected as one of four finalists for his efforts throughout the season.
The Rising Star Award recognises players under 19 who have shown great potential in their sport.
Raymond, 17, has played almost 30 games of seniors football after rising through the junior ranks at Rovers.
In his early days as a junior, he represented Australia in the under 15s competition.
In representing the award on Monday, league operations manager Shane Railton also made mention of Raymond’s performance in the under 14s a few years back, captaining the fourths to a win and getting ‘best on’ for the team.
His team won that premiership undefeated.
‘‘There’s not much that Ray hasn’t done in his football career up until this point,’’ Railton said.
In 2021, Raymond played for both the under 17s and seniors teams, often playing in both sides each round.
‘‘All four nominees are part of elite programs, which are a credit to the calibre of our young players and our clubs,’’ said Mr Railton.
‘‘I think these four nominees are the strongest we’ve had in my time during the last 10 years.’’
The Deni Rovers was also represented in the Rising Star Awards for netballers, with Hayley Denny as one of four nominees for the overall award.