After winning the 2009 AFL Rising Star award, Daniel Rich was the first to admit that he wasn’t satisfied with his performance in his following two seasons.

But with some standout performances in 2012, it’s safe to say that the blues are gone for Daniel Rich.

The blond midfielder was a shining light for the Lions this season, as evidenced by his 2nd placing in the Merrett-Murray Medal count at the Brisbane Lions Club Champion dinner last Friday.

Rich polled votes in 16 games from a possible 20 (he missed two games due to suspension), and finished the night on 32 votes - just two votes shy of Joel Patfull - to claim the Nigel Lappin Runner Up trophy.

Arguably the highlight of Rich’s season came in the Lions’ round 22 clash against the Bulldogs, where he had a near faultless game with 25 disposals, four goals, and three goal assists.

In accepting his award, Rich said he was confident that the team was heading in the right direction towards on-field success.

“We’ve got a long way to go to get where we want to be, and we know that,” Rich said.

“With hard work, we know we can do it.”

“To all our members and supporters, as Vossy says, stick by us because success is just around the corner.”

Rich was joined on the podium by Patfull and third-place getter Peace Hanley, who took home the Alastair Lynch trophy for his performance across half back this year.

Hanley was taken by surprise at his award, but was just as enthusiastic about the team’s potential for next year.

“I’d like to thank all the players - we’ve had a big improvement on last year, and hopefully next year we can come out and play well again,” he said.

The cheeky Irishman also paid tribute to those who helped him along the way his in AFL journey.

“Thank you to all the coaches, and my mum and dad… unfortunately I don’t have a girlfriend to thank, so I’ll just thank my roommate’s girlfriend instead, who makes me Carbonara before every game.”