AFTER a weekend of stellar performances from some of the game's young stars, Lions midfielder Claye Beams has earned the nod as the first nominee for the 2012 NAB AFL Rising Star.

Beams won the nomination for his 25-possession, five-tackle performance in Saturday's 41-point win over Melbourne at the MCG.

And the nomination bodes well for Beams' chances of winning the award at season's end, with four past winners all taking home the award after earning the first nomination of the season.

Paul Hasleby (2000), Sam Mitchell (2003), Daniel Rich (2009) and last year's winner Dyson Heppell all lifted the NAB AFL Rising Star Award after round one nominations.

This season is almost a second attempt at a debut year for Beams, who impressed with two goals in his AFL debut against Fremantle in round one last year.

He only played four more games for the season before stress fractures in his foot brought a premature end to his year in May.

And it wasn't so long ago that Beams' football days looked to be over.

Faced with the choice of many talented young sportsmen around Australia, Beams chose to pursue cricket instead of football and had dedicated himself to playing first grade cricket with the Mudgeeraba Cricket Club on the Gold Coast.

But after seeing the rapid rise of older brother Dayne to become a premiership player with Collingwood in just his second year of AFL football, Claye decided to return to football and quickly earned a spot on the Brisbane Lions' rookie list.

Beams said the instant success of his brother was a key reason behind his return to the game.

"It was about a year and a half I was away from the game and Dayne had been drafted and played a fair few games in his first year. Watching him reignited the flame and I thought why not have a crack at it and I was lucky enough to be picked up by Brisbane," he said.

"We spoke about it. He said to do whatever you feel is right and I am sure you'll make the right decision. Seeing him play definitely helped."

Claye has grown accustomed to living his football career in his brother's shadow but has taken one step towards emulating his career with a Rising Star nomination. Dayne was nominated for the award in 2009, eventually finishing fourth in the voting behind Rich.

The younger Beams' work as a hard at it forward/midfielder is not dissimilar to that of his brother, who took little time adjusting to life at the elite level.

It also could quickly make Claye a regular part of a Brisbane Lions team looking to return to the finals for the first time since 2009.

The comparisons between the two are inevitable, but Beams the junior takes it all in his stride.

"I'm probably going to get that throughout my whole AFL career. I've learnt to deal with it. I don't worry too much about what people are saying. We're best of mates so I don't take on board what is being said," he said.

"Not many players are able to win a premiership in their second year, let alone their whole career. He has been lucky but he's deserved it."

Luke Holmesby is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter - @AFL_Luke