The AFL Women's Rising Star is an Australian rules football award given annually to the best young player 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 ...

(AFLW) for the year. Two eligible players are nominated each round of the home-and-away season; the players must have been under 21 at the beginning of the year and cannot have been previously nominated. Players suspended during the year cannot win. After the season's completion, an expert panel votes on the recipient. In 2016, National Australia Bank expanded its 14-year sponsorship of the Australian Football League (AFL) to the women's competition, including the

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of t ...

to its Rising Star award, ahead of its first season in 2017. The inaugural Rising Star, who won $20,000, was announced at the AFLW's awards ceremony on 28 March, held at Peninsula, an event space in Docklands, Melbourne. The ceremony was live-streamed on the AFL's website and mobile app. The ten members of the year's voting panel were Mark Evans, Darren Flanigan, Ros Lanigan, Simon Lethlean, Jennie Loughnan,

Peta Searle Peta Searle is a former Australian rules football, Australian rules footballer and coach. Searle was senior coach of the St Kilda Football Club in the AFL Women's competition (AFLW) from 2020 to 2021. Searle was previously the first woman appoi ...

, Kevin Sheehan,

Kelli Underwood Kelli Underwood (born 1977) is an Australian radio and television sports journalist and sportscaster specialising in Australian rules football, netball and tennis. She was the first woman to call an Australian Football League match on televisi ...

, Josh Vanderloo and Shelley Ware. Ebony Marinoff of was the inaugural winner, earning 47 votes. A

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, she led the league in

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

, laying a total of 70 for the season. She played in Adelaide's premiership side and was also named on the interchange bench in the season's AFLW All-Australian team. amassed the most nominations during the season, with four players ( Deanna Berry, Jasmine Grierson,

Lily Mithen Lily Mithen (born 2 March 1998) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's competition. She was drafted by Melbourne with their tenth selection and seventy-third overall in the 2016 AFL Women ...

and Katherine Smith) selected.

Nominations

Final voting

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:AFL Women's Rising Star, 2017 2017 AFL Women's season Australian rules football-related lists

Nominations

Final voting

See also

References