The race for the Rising Star is always an exciting one and this season is no different.
Will it be the overwhelming favourite Sam Walsh? Could excitement machine Sydney Stack steal it at the death? Or is there a chance of a late steal through a young gun such as Gryan Miers?
While not all Rising Star winners have gone on to become the players everyone thought they would be, there are a select few who met and exceeded such high expectations.
Winners of the award have gone on to win Brownlow medals and play instrumental roles in several premierships.
Here are the five best players to have won The Rising Star award.
1. Nathan Buckley (1993)
The inaugural Rising Star winner and arguably the best of the lot.
Despite not wanting to be there, Nathan Buckley enjoyed an elite first season at the Brisbane Bears which kickstarted his illustrious career.
He averaged 23.5 disposals and received his nomination in Brisbane’s Round 7 meeting with Hawthorn – although he was unlucky to have missed out the week before when he and teammate Michael Voss finished with 30 and 27 disposals respectively.
Like Voss, Buckley would go on to great success – albeit at Collingwood – in a career which saw highs, including seven All-Australian nominations, six Copeland Trophies, a Norm Smith Medal and a Brownlow.
In addition to Buckley, the season’s nominations consisted of Shane Crawford, Glenn Archer, Matthew Richardson, Scott West, Dustin Fletcher, Mark Ricciuto and Leigh Colbert.
2. Adam Goodes (1999)
Staggeringly, Adam Goodes was drafted in at pick No. 43.
By his eighth season, Goodes had won two Brownlow medals, a premiership and the 1999 Rising Star and is often regarded as one of the most skilful players to play our game.
Despite receiving his nomination in Sydney’s Round 2 loss against Richmond, it was not until Sydney’s Round 11 meeting with St Kilda where Goodes got going.
A three-goal and 20-possession performance became the catalyst to an impressive run of form which saw him finish the season with 19 goals.
Of all the Rising Star winners, Goodes has played the most games – 372 – and is the only player on the list to have won two Brownlow medals.
3. Nick Riewoldt (2002)
Saint Nick was the first pick of the 2000 AFL draft and is arguably the greatest player to have played at St Kilda.
There were no second thoughts about taking Riewoldt at pick No. 1, as he spearheaded St Kilda’s rise to top-four regulars in the decade which followed.
Despite only playing six games in 2001 – a season where the Rising Star was won by Justin Koschitzke – Riewoldt played a full season in 2002 to take out the award, kicking 21 goals in a difficult year for the Saints.
Two years later Riewoldt was awarded the AFL Players Association’s Most Valuable Player for 2004, in addition to being selected for the All-Australian squad and finishing in the top 10 of the Brownlow.
While a premiership eluded Riewoldt throughout his career, he is remembered as one of the most admired footballers of his generation.
4. Ben Cousins (1996)
One of six father-son selections in the 1995 draft, Ben Cousins dominated his first season, being the only father-son player to have won the Rising Star.
He was nominated in West Coast’s Round 11 victory over the Saints, where he kicked five goals and had 16 disposals.
He kicked 34 goals; a record which was not broken among first year players until Jaidyn Stephenson’s 38-goal season in 2018.
Despite his off-field issues, there is no doubt Cousins was a star of the competition.
His accolades are aplenty – a Brownlow, Premiership, MVP and a four-time West Coast club champion places him in the highest echelon of players in the last two decades.
5. Sam Mitchell (2003)
Sam Mitchell is one of the first players who comes to mind when discussing Hawthorn’s golden era and his 2003 campaign started it all.
Before winning the Rising Star, Mitchell was awarded the J.J. Liston medal after polling 31 votes in 11 matches for the Box Hill Hawks at 18 years of age.
Mitchell continued this form into his second season, breaking into the AFL side and averaged 17 disposals in his first full season.
Since then, Mitchell has been part of four Hawthorn premierships – captaining one of them – as well as winning the 2012 Brownlow and five club best-and-fairest awards.
RISING STAR WINNERS: 1993-2018
1993: Nathan Buckley - Brisbane Bears
1994: Chris Scott - Brisbane Bears
1995: Nick Holland - Hawthorn
1996: Ben Cousins - West Coast
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
2007: Joel Selwood - Geelong
2008: Rhys Palmer - Fremantle
2009: Daniel Rich - Brisbane
2010: Dan Hannebery - Sydney
2011: Dyson Heppell - Essendon
2012: Daniel Talia - Adelaide
2013: Jaeger O'Meara - Gold Coast
2014: Lewis Taylor - Brisbane
2015: Jesse Hogan - Melbourne
2016: Callum Mills - Sydney
2017: Andrew McGrath - Essendon
2018: Jaidyn Stephenson - Collingwood
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