George Wardlaw's AFL Rising Star nomination, earned against Fremantle on Saturday, is already the second of his career.

It's an outstanding achievement for any 19-year-old, and all the more remarkable when you consider it was only Wardlaw's 10th AFL game. 

Here are three stat lines that help show why Wardlaw has made such an outsized impact in his short career to date, and why North Melbourne fans haven't seen the best of him yet. 

1. Tackles

The young onballer tackles with an almost unmatched ferocity and it was on show right from his debut, as he went onto lay a game-high nine tackles against the Swans in Round 10 last season.

Three weeks later - when he won his first Rising Star nomination - he had another game-high nine tackles against the Giants, before tallying the same amount against the Bombers in what was his final game of 2023.

Across his first season, he led the club in tackles per game with 5.8.

2. Pressure acts

Given his tackle metrics, it’s no surprise that Wardlaw has ranked highly for pressure acts over his short career.

A work-rate machine, he causes havoc with his intense defensive game and notched 31 pressure acts on two occasions last season (in R10 and R22).

He led the team in pressure acts per game last season, averaging 23.5, and after two games in 2024, he sits second behind only Luke Davies-Uniacke.

3. Time on ground percentage

Wardlaw's injury complaints as a junior meant the Kangas have had to take a cautious approach with their No.6 so far, which is reflected in his time on ground percentage.

Excluding Round 18, 2023 against the Hawks when he left the game prematurely with a hamstring issue, Wardlaw averaged just 59.7 per cent of total game time, but was still able to produce at a high level.

This season, his time on ground has increased to an average of 71.8 per cent. On Saturday against the Dockers, he converted those minutes into career-high numbers for disposals (23) and marks (six).

As his body becomes primed for more on-field minutes, the sky is the limit for the midfielder who could quickly become one of the competition's most elite players.