The AFL Rising Star is an
Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the
Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. It was first presented in the
1993 season, and was won by
Nathan Buckley
Nathan Charles Buckley (born 26 July 1972) is a former professional Australian rules football coach, player and commentator.
He is listed by journalist Mike Sheahan as one of the top 50 players of all time. Buckley won the inaugural Rising S ...
, playing for the
Brisbane Bears
The Brisbane Football Club, nicknamed the Bears, was a professional Australian rules football club based in Queensland on the Gold Coast (relocated to Brisbane in 1993). The club participated in the Victorian/Australian Football League (VFL/ ...
.
The recipient of the AFL Rising Star has been awarded the
Ron Evans Medal since 2007, named in honour of the former
AFL Commission
The AFL Commission is the official governing body of the Australian Football League Limited (AFL), its subsidiaries and controlled entities. Richard Goyder has been chairman since 4 April 2017, replacing Mike Fitzpatrick.
It was formed in 198 ...
chairman following his death that year.
The award was sponsored by
Norwich Union Australia from its inception in 1993 until 2000.
The AFL then secured a six-year sponsorship deal with
Ansett Australia
Ansett Australia was a major Australian airline group, based in Melbourne, Australia. The airline flew domestically within Australia and from the 1990s to destinations in Asia. After operating for 65 years, the airline was placed into admini ...
in 2001, that included the Rising Star award;
however, this agreement only lasted the one season following the collapse of Ansett in September 2001.
National Australia Bank (NAB) has sponsored the award since 2002. An
equivalent award has existed in the
AFL Women's
AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football league for women's Australian rules football, female players. The 2017 AFL Women's season, first season of the league ...
league since its inception in 2017.
The clubs with the most AFL Rising Star awards are , and , with three awards won by players representing these teams. 's eight nominations in the
2012 season is the most any club has achieved in a season. The most recent recipient of the award is 's
Nick Daicos
Nick Daicos (born 3 January 2003) is a professional Australian rules football player who plays for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Daicos is the son of Peter Daicos, who played for Collingwood in the VFL ...
, winning in
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...
.
Eligibility and nominations
A player is nominated for the award each round during the AFL season by a panel of experts.
The nominee is usually chosen based on their performance in that particular round; however, for nominations closer to the end of the year, the player's performance over the whole season is taken into consideration. To be eligible for nomination, the player must be under the age of 21 at 1 January that year, and have played ten or fewer AFL games as of the start of the season.
A player can only be nominated once per season; if a player is suspended during the season, he may be nominated, but will not be eligible to win the award. At the completion of the
regular season
In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of ...
, each member of the voting panel independently awards five votes, four votes, three votes, two votes and one vote to the nominated players they regard as the best to fifth-best during the season; the player with the highest total of votes wins the medal.
As the number of voting members varies between seasons, the maximum number of votes a player can poll is not consistent. There have been only four winners who have accumulated the maximum votes in their season:
Jared Rivers
Jared Rivers (born 18 October 1984) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club and Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Junior career
As a child Rivers supported the Sydney Sw ...
(2004),
Daniel Rich
Daniel Rich (born 7 June 1990) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited with the seventh overall selection in the 2008 national draft.
Early life
...
(2009),
Dan Hannebery
Daniel Hannebery (born 24 February 1991) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Sydney Swans from 2009 to 2018 and for the St Kilda Football Club fro ...
(2010) and
Nick Daicos
Nick Daicos (born 3 January 2003) is a professional Australian rules football player who plays for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Daicos is the son of Peter Daicos, who played for Collingwood in the VFL ...
(2022).
It is possible for a player to be nominated in multiple seasons, as long as he still satisfies the age and experience criteria in each year. Sixteen players have been nominated twice for a Rising Star award:
*
Duncan Kellaway
Duncan Kellaway (born 17 February 1973) is a former Australian rules football player who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Educated at Caulfield Grammar School, Kellaway debuted for Richmond in 1993 ...
(1993 and 1994)
*
Craig Callaghan
Craig William Callaghan (born 9 March 1976) is an Australian rules footballer who played for Fremantle and St Kilda in the Australian Football League (AFL). He played as a midfielder and forward pocket and began his football career at Swan Dis ...
(1995 and 1996)
*
Michael Braun (1997 and 1998)
*
Luke Power
Luke Power (born 8 January 1980) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Brisbane Lions and Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL). A member of the Brisbane Lions's 2001, 2002, and 2003 premiers ...
(1998 and 1999)
*
Nathan Jones (2006 and 2007)
*
Mark LeCras (2006 and 2007)
*
Michael Hurley (2009 and 2010)
*
Jordan Gysberts
Jordan Gysberts (born 11 June 1991) is an Australian rules footballer who previously played for the Melbourne Football Club and the North Melbourne Football Club in Australian Football League (AFL).
Junior career
Gysberts played his junior ...
(2010 and 2011)
*
Sam Blease
Sam Blease (born 19 February 1991) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club and Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Selected by Melbourne with pick 17 in the 20 ...
(2011 and 2012)
*
Orazio Fantasia
Orazio Maurice Fantasia ( or ; born 14 September 1995) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited by the Essendon Football Club with the 55 ...
(2015 and 2016)
*
Alex Witherden
Alex Witherden (born 10 September 1998) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Early life
Witherden was a successful junior athlete in basketball and cricket but ...
(2017 and 2018)
*
Lachlan Sholl (2020 and 2021)
*
Mitch Georgiades (2020 and 2021)
*
Luke Jackson (2020 and 2021)
*
Tom Green
Michael Thomas Green (born July 30, 1971) is a Canadian-American comedian, show host, actor, filmmaker, podcaster, and rapper. After pursuing stand-up comedy and music as a young adult, Green created and hosted ''The Tom Green Show'', which a ...
(2020 and 2021)
*
Justin McInerney
Justin McInerney (born 18 August 2000) is a professional Australian rules footballer who plays for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Early life
McInerney was raised in the northern suburbs of Melbourne and participated ...
(2020 and 2021)
*
Jake Bowey (2021 and 2022)
Recipients
Club totals
See also
*
AFL Women's Rising Star
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Afl Rising Star
Australian Football League awards
Australian rules football awards
Awards established in 1993
1993 establishments in Australia
Rookie player awards