The AFL Women's Rising Star is an Australian rules football award given annually to the best young player in the AFL Women's (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 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, Kevin Sheehan, Kelli Underwood, Josh Vanderloo and Shelley Ware.

Ebony Marinoff of Adelaide was the inaugural winner, earning 47 votes. A midfielder, she led the league in tackles, 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. Melbourne amassed the most nominations during the season, with four players (Deanna Berry, Jasmine Grierson, Lily Mithen and Katherine Smith) selected.

Nominations

Table of nominees

Round	Player	Club	Ref.
1	Bailey Hunt	Western Bulldogs
	Ebony Marinoff	Adelaide
2	Tayla Harris	Brisbane
	Lily Mithen	Melbourne
3	Erin McKinnon	Greater Western Sydney
	Ashley Sharp	Fremantle
4	Sabrina Frederick-Traub	Brisbane
	Jasmine Grierson	Melbourne
5	Bella Ayre	Carlton
	Tilly Lucas-Rodd	Carlton
6	Brittany Bonnici	Collingwood
	Katherine Smith	Melbourne
7	Nicola Barr	Greater Western Sydney
	Deanna Berry	Melbourne

Table of nominations by club

Number	Club	Player	Nom.
4	Melbourne	Lily Mithen	2
		Jasmine Grierson	4
		Katherine Smith	6
		Deanna Berry	7
2	Brisbane	Tayla Harris	2
		Sabrina Frederick-Traub	4
	Carlton	Bella Ayre	5
		Tilly Lucas-Rodd	5
	Greater Western Sydney	Erin McKinnon	3
		Nicola Barr	7
1	Adelaide	Ebony Marinoff	1
	Collingwood	Brittany Bonnici	6
	Fremantle	Ashley Sharp	3
	Western Bulldogs	Bailey Hunt	1

Final voting

Table of votes

Placing	Player	Club	Nom.	Votes
1	Ebony Marinoff	Adelaide	1	47
2	Sabrina Frederick-Traub	Brisbane	4	41
3	Lily Mithen	Melbourne	2	23
4	Tayla Harris	Brisbane	2	18
5	Jasmine Grierson	Melbourne	4	12
6	Erin McKinnon	Greater Western Sydney	3	5
7	Nicola Barr	Greater Western Sydney	7	2
	Deanna Berry	Melbourne	7	2

See also

• 2017 AFL Rising Star