Round 1 – Sam Mitchell
The 2003 National AFL Rising Star, Hawthorn’s powerhouse midfielder Sam Mitchell was the pre-count favourite. He emerged as one of the Hawks’ pivotal players during the second half of the season with his ability to win the hard ball and also win the all-important centre clearances. Mitchell was nominated for a busy display against Melbourne in round one. A proven vote-getter, Mitchell won the Liston Trophy for the best and fairest in the VFL last year for Box Hill polling 31 votes to win by a staggering 12 votes despite playing only 11 matches for the season. Mitchell was the top pick of five of the seven Rising Star selectors and finished with 33 votes from a possible top score of 35.