The AFL Rising Star Award was instituted in 1993 to recognise and encourage talented young players in the AFL. After each round of home and away games, a player is nominated and at the end of the season a panel of experts selects the winner. The winner must be under the age of 21 at January 1 of that year, must not have played more than 10 games to the start of that season and must not have been suspended by the AFL or State League tribunals during the season (as with the Brownlow Medal, players found guilty of certain offences and fined or reprimanded by the Tribunal remain eligible to win the award).
Past Winners
- 1993 Nathan Buckley (Brisbane)
- 1994 Chris Scott (Brisbane)
- 1995 Nick Holland (Hawthorn)
- 1996 Ben Cousins (West Coast Eagles)
- 1997 Michael Wilson (Port Adelaide)
- 1998 Byron Pickett (North Melbourne)
- 1999 Adam Goodes (Sydney)
- 2000 Paul Hasleby (Fremantle)
- 2001 Justin Koschitzke (St Kilda)
- 2002 Nick Riewoldt (St Kilda)
- 2003 Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn)
- 2004 Jared Rivers (Melbourne)
- 2005 Brett Deledio (Richmond)
- 2006 Danyle Pearce (Port Adelaide)