AFL 2025; St Kilda's Huge Garcia earned the round 9 Rising Star
A St Kilda young gun gave the perfect response to a massive and very public spray from his coach by joining an elite crew.
A week after being eviscerated on the bench by his coach and subbed out for poor performance, St Kilda's Huge Garcia is a rising star.
Garcia, 19, earned the round 9 nomination for the AFL Rising Star award on the back of a 19-possession, 10 tackle haul in the Saints huge Friday night win over Fremantle.
It was a performance in stark contrast to the previous week when the teenager was subbed out before halftime and taken apart by coach Ross Lyon who made his way down to the bench to talk to his young midfielder.
Lyon didn't back away from the bake he gave Garcia, who has played every game this season, and given the chance to respond he did in style as the Sinats romped to a 61-point win, including kicking a late goal.
'We've backed him in, we've had a lot of young debutants,' Lyon said after the game.
'Can you have favourites? He's one of ours.
'He's just so competitive, culturally trains so hard.' — AFL.com.au (@AFLcomau) April 27, 2025
Garcia becomes St Kilda's second Rising Star nominee in the past two seasons, following on from teammate Darcy Wilson last year.
'Hugo is a relentless competitor with the work ethic to match. It's been great to watch his growth and progress over his first two-seasons so far,' St Kilda EGM of Football David Misson said.
'As a second-year player, we've loved seeing his buy in to what we're building as a team, and how best he can play his role in that system.'
'We congratulate Hugo on earning the rising star nomination for this week and look forward to seeing him keep building on what's been a promising start to his career.'
Originally published as St Kilda's Huge Garcia earned the round 9 Rising Star nomination a week after being subbed out and a target for a Ross Lyon spray
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
4 hours ago
- News.com.au
A closer look at Treacy's heroic mark
AFL: The Fox Footy panel discuss Josh Treacy's game-winning mark for the Fremantle Dockers vs. the North Melbourne Kangaroos.
Perth Now
5 hours ago
- Perth Now
Money well spent! Freo win thriller at home away from home
How much is a win worth? Fremantle's decision to pay North Melbourne to play a home game in Perth has reaped huge rewards with the Dockers after surviving a stunning final quarter comeback to win by six points at Optus Stadium. There's no place like home – especially when you're the away team - and it could easily be argued that the Dockers wouldn't have walked away with a 10.13 (73) to 10.7 (67) win if that game had been in Victoria. The Dockers' off-field team did all the hard work to get them a 13th match in WA and the players produced a series of huge moments in the dying stages to win in front of 31,408 people. It was a night where North Melbourne got the pre-game pyrotechnics, the advertising hoardings, the stadium lighting and pump up on the scoreboard. Fremantle led by 23 points early in the final quarter, North levelled the scores late, then the Dockers kicked the match winner before surviving a frantic finish. Corey Wagner kicks a goal. Credit: Jackson Flindell / Jackson Flindell / The West Aust The Roos clearly felt at home because they dominated the first term. Luke Davies-Uniacke was on fire with 14 possessions and four clearances, while Harry Sheezel had 14 touches and Colby McKercher collected 11. North controlled the clearances in the opening term and applied enormous pressure inside 50 but Fremantle defended strongly and didn't let the Kangaroos get value for their hard work. North Melbourne led by only two points at quarter time and despite being outplayed, Fremantle would have been in front if they'd kicked accurately. The Dockers had 2.5 on the board from only 11 inside 50s. The Roos extended their lead to seven points after kicking the first goal of the second term, but the game changed as Fremantle asserted more control around stoppages. The Dockers kicked five unanswered goals including a burst of four in five minutes as rain bucketed down. They won crucial clearances, ran in numbers and didn't waste their chances when they came. Shai Bolton in action. Credit: Jackson Flindell / Jackson Flindell / The West Aust Pat Voss booted two goals for the quarter, Luke Jackson had an influence both as a goal kicker inside 50 and a pack crasher, and Fremantle's use of both Jackson and Darcy started to get the better of Tristan Xerri. Corey Wagner reduced Davies-Uniacke's influence, keeping him to six touches and no clearances while winning eight possessions of his own, kicking one goal and contributing to others. Jordan Clark was also huge with nine disposals and immense drive from half-back. Fremantle led by 21 points at half-time and they would have felt perfectly at home. They were even getting their own music played after kicking goals. That doesn't happen when they're in Melbourne. The Kangaroos had so many chances to get back into the game during the third quarter but threw most away. Sean Darcy competes with Tristan Xerri. Credit: Jackson Flindell / Jackson Flindell / The West Aust Cam Zurhaar missed with a shot on the run that he'd usually eat up. Paul Curtis then missed a regulation set shot. Finn O'Sullivan had no idea that Neil Erasmus had run into the umpire, and had an air swing when attempting to soccer the ball through from the goal square. And then the Roos kicked the footy over Luke Parker's head when he was alone inside 50. George Wardlaw had another opportunity late in the quarter but the Dockers maintained pressure and his shot sailed high in the air and straight to a Fremantle defender. When you have those chances and don't nail them, you are always vulnerable to making a big mistake. Sheezel thought the ball hit the ground when Sam Switkowski took a mark, laid a tackle and was immediately penalised with a 50m penalty. Switkowski kicked truly and the Dockers had the first goal of the term after a long 22 minutes. Josh Treacy marks. Credit: Jackson Flindell / Jackson Flindell / The West Aust Parker quickly replied from a free kick, but Nick Larkey's next shot went out of bounds on the full and it summed up the quarter for North. The roar which followed as Nat Fyfe came on as the sub was a clear reminder that this game was being played in Perth and the crowd celebrated further when Serong kicked a classy goal as the clock ticked towards three quarter time. But a familiar enemy bobbed up moments later as Jack Darling kicked a goal right on the siren. Fremantle led by 22 points with one quarter to play. North Melbourne stormed home when trailing at the final change to beat West Coast in Bunbury last week. Could they do it again?You bet they could. They kicked the first goal to make it a game. Then Larkey kicked another. Suddenly it was only 12 points the difference with 15 minutes to play. North had all the momentum. And then Larkey kicked another. North were relentless. Murphy Reid takes a mark. Credit: Jackson Flindell / Jackson Flindell / The West Aust Just one point separated the teams inside the last four minutes and it came down to one moment. Jackson had his chance and kicked the match winner. Or did he? North Melbourne just kept pumping the ball forward and Fremantle just kept finding a way to stop them from drawing the contest. The Kangaroos had more disposals, more inside 50s, more clearances and laid 29 tackles inside 50 to Freo's seven. But the Dockers won the game. There's no place like home.
West Australian
a day ago
- West Australian
Fremantle Dockers and West Coast Eagles can build on 13th game in Perth to achieve genuine AFL fixture reform
At the risk of putting the mozz on the campaign to reduce travel inequity throughout the AFL, it's been an incredibly positive 12 months and the momentum is charging in the right direction. Remember last season when an argument was raised that the WA clubs getting access to business class seats was evidence that they aren't disadvantaged by travel? Fremantle and West Coast shot down that claim with immense power and precision, and have since locked away an extra game in WA from 2025-27 while creating more opportunities for extra games into the future. The Dockers and Eagles have long felt like they were banging their heads against a wall in regards to travel, but some of those bricks are starting to crumble. They were constantly getting fixtured to play in Geelong, Tasmania, Canberra or the Northern Territory and even the lack of direct flights to Gold Coast, had them spending extra time en-route to games. But now they've worked out a deal to take charter flights around Australia and have convinced the AFL to predominantly schedule day matches when on the road so they can fly home later that night. Finding somewhere to train in Victoria has been a constant problem .But the Dockers were granted access to both Marvel Stadium and the MCG at times this season. They're small but significant wins.. From little things, big things grow. And the biggest thing is having more games in Perth. Eagles fans will hate this, but last weekend's loss to North Melbourne was the perfect result for the travel campaign. The Kangaroos gave up a home game and still won. Had they sold two games and lost both, there would have been an immediate cry from the other side of the country that the move was too big an advantage for the WA clubs. Fremantle beat North Melbourne in Victoria last year and have started this round clearly higher than them on the ladder, so there's likely to be less angst if the Dockers win on Saturday. Fremantle beat Gold Coast and GWS on the road before the bye so would have gone into the Roos' clash as favourites regardless of location. Both WA clubs know how important this deal is. The Dockers missed the finals by one win last season. Carlton finished eighth and played 17 games in Victoria. Fremantle played only 12 in WA. The Blues flew 13,588km throughout last season. Fremantle covered 53,784km for their interstate flights. Those flights, lost hours and lost days add up. It feels like the AFL and the clubs are starting to gain an appreciation for the plight of a travelling team. This month's AFL appointments will only increase that understanding. Brisbane CEO Greg Swann is now running footy. He started his career in Victoria at Collingwood and Carlton but then spent a decade in Queensland. He understands the travel challenge. Sydney CEO Tom Harley is also moving to the AFL as Chief Operating Officer. His portfolio is large but includes Competition Structure plus strategic initiatives including Gather Round and Tasmania. His focus will be on more than just Victoria. Chairman Richard Goyder is from Western Australia. Former Docker Matt de Boer joined the AFL Commission in 2023. They're key voices in key positions. Even the Victorian clubs are filled with influential people who understand travel and will find it hard to keep a straight face if they argue against change. Essendon CEO Craig Vozzo previously worked at West Coast. Bombers coach Brad Scott played for Brisbane. Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell played and then was an assistant at the Eagles. Ross Lyon coached Fremantle before returning to St Kilda. Geelong coach Chris Scott is a former Dockers assistant and played his entire career at the Lions. Craig McRae also played for Brisbane. Michael Voss was his captain. Voss then coached Brisbane before heading to South Australia where he worked for Port Adelaide and then getting appointed as Carlton coach. Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin is a former Adelaide captain. That's a large group of key people across a range of Victorian clubs. Other developments include club CEOs travelling to Perth for a meeting last year. They'll soon gather on the Gold Coast for another meeting. Those discussions have nearly always been in Victoria. Everyone knows the AFL isn't an even competition. There are compromises and inequity everywhere you look Victorian clubs have an advantage when it comes to re-signing players or recruiting them through trades/free agency. Why? Because the majority of draftees come from Victoria and we're constantly seeing players asking to go home. Not having to travel to win a premiership is a clear advantage. Victorian clubs have won the flag in eight of the last 10 grand finals where they've played an interstate opponent. When all of the evidence is laid out, it is hard to argue against. Which means building momentum by mounting a compelling argument that others can't shoot down is so important when trying to instigate change. The message is getting through and it's not just Fremantle and West Coast who are shouting from the rooftops. Momentum has never been stronger for travel/fixture reform.
