Queensland currently boasts some of the competition’s best young talent, with three in particular – James Aish (Lions), Lewy Taylor (Lions), and Kade Kolodjashnij (Suns) – among the leading contenders for the 2014 AFL Rising Star award.

Aish and Kolodjashnij are among the top few favourites with betting agencies to take out the honour, while Taylor presents great value a little further down the list.

Unfortunately fans won’t get to see all three of the talented youngsters in action this Saturday night at the Gabba, with a hamstring injury set to sideline Kolodjashnij for the upcoming QClash.

The defender’s absence could open the door for Aish and Taylor to further press their claims to becoming the AFL’s Rising Star for 2014.

Of the 17 Rising Star nominees so far this season, Taylor is the only one to have featured in every one of his side’s senior matches.

The Mortlake product has also booted nine goals this season – the fifth most at the Lions – and directly contributed towards seven others.

Aish, meanwhile, has lived up to the hype that surrounded him when the Lions selected the South Australian prodigy with Pick No.7 at last year’s AFL National Draft.

He has collected 20 or more disposals in six of his 15 AFL matches, including a career-best 25 against St Kilda back in Round 6, which earned him a Rising Star nomination.

Aish has also proven that he’s more than just a skilful outside player by winning a greater number of contested possessions and laying plenty of tackles when thrust into the engine room.

If either Aish or Taylor were to get the Rising Star nod in 2014, they would join Daniel Rich (2009), Nathan Buckley (1993), and Chris Scott (1994) as only the fourth player in Club's combined history to receive the honour.

If Kolodjashnij earned the title, he would become the second Suns player to do so in as many years, after Jaeger O’Meara was a runaway winner in 2013.

There are obviously a number of other worthy contenders across the AFL, including current favourite Marcus Bontempelli (Bulldogs), Luke Dunstan (St Kilda), Tom Langdon (Collingwood), Luke McDonald (Kangaroos), Zach Merrett (Essendon), Jack Billings (St Kilda), and Josh Kelly (GWS), to name but a few.

Plus, there are many more that haven’t received a nomination as yet, but will be carefully considered by selectors over the next six weeks.

Marco Paparone is one Lions player who could be considered unlucky not to have received a nomination as yet, particularly after collecting 20 or more disposals four times already this season.

Then, of course, there are the likes of Michael Close, Darcy Gardiner, Daniel McStay, Nick Robertson, Tom Cutler who have all played a number of senior games and are eligible.

Jack Martin heads a long list of other young Suns who look set for a big future.

In fact, Martin was the raging hot favourite to win the Rising Star at the beginning of 2014, before suffering a shoulder injury which kept him out for a large part of the season.

What this proves is that there will be plenty of young talent on show this Saturday night at the Gabba, adding a further sub-plot to what promises to be a memorable QClash.

Here’s how the Lions and Suns’ 2014 Rising Star nominees stack up against each other: