ANGUS Clarke has become Essendon's third Telstra AFL Rising Star nominee of 2025 after his stunning debut in Dreamtime at the 'G.

Clarke, the No.39 pick in last year's Telstra AFL Draft, burst onto the scene in speculator fashion in the Bombers' 23-point win over Richmond on Friday night.

RISING STAR HUB Check out all this year's nominees

Playing on a wing, Clarke kicked three first-half goals, finishing with 16 disposals, eight marks, three tackles and 522 metres gained.

Clarke joins Archie Roberts and Nate Caddy as Essendon nominees this year.

The teenager hails from the tiny farming town Tantanoola, 30 minutes out of Mount Gambier, four and a half hours away from Adelaide, and grew up working on the family dairy farm.

"We've seen what he's been able to do at training and through the VFL," Bombers coach Brad Scott said after the win. 

"I think the VFL program have done a terrific job getting him ready to come in and perform at AFL level and while clearly we've had some challenges on the availability front, we don't want to bring players in unless we feel they're ready to play. 

"We felt Angus was ready, we had a role for him and he came in and executed as we thought he would. 

"Did we think the outcome in terms of the results and three goals and all of that? Probably not. But in terms of his effort and intent to execute the role we did exactly as we thought he would."

The injury-hit Bombers are 6-4 ahead of a tough trip to Brisbane to face the Lions on Thursday night.

2025 Telstra AFL Rising Star nominees

Round one: Sam Lalor (Richmond)
Round two: Connor O'Sullivan (Geelong)
Round three: Harvey Langford (Melbourne)
Round four: Levi Ashcroft (Brisbane)
Round five: Archie Roberts (Essendon)
Round six: Murphy Reid (Fremantle)
Round seven: Xavier Lindsay (Melbourne)
Round eight: Hugo Garcia (St Kilda)
Round nine: Nate Caddy (Essendon)
Round 10: Cooper Lord (Carlton)
Round 11: Angus Clarke (Essendon)