The MARS Red Best Young Player Award was introduced in 2010 to recognise the future stars of the ANZ Championship. 

Sharni Layton (Adelaide Thunderbirds) was named the inaugural MARS Red Best Young Player on the eve of the 2010 ANZ Championship Grand Final.  Click here to read about Sharni's excitement at her surprise announcement!

To be eligible for MARS Red Best Young Player nomination, players must be aged 25 years or younger as at 1 January of that year, must not have played more than five games in total across any previous ANZ Championship season, and must not have represented their country in more than five test matches. 
 

2010 Nominees

• 1st nominee, announced during Round 10: Sharni Layton, Adelaide Thunderbirds
• 2nd nominee, announced during Round 11: Ellen Halpenny, Mercury Energy Tactix
• 3rd nominee, announced during Round 12: Leah Shoard, West Coast Fever
• 4th nominee, announced during Round 13: Kayla Cullen, LG Mystics
• 5th nominee, announced during Round 14: Amy Steel, Queensland Firebirds

Selection Criteria                                                                                                            
To be eligible for nomination, players must meet all of the following criteria:

• Must be aged 25 years or under as at 1st January of the current season
• Must have taken the court at no more than five games in total across any previous ANZ Championship season/s (regardless of time spent on court at each game)
• Can be nominated in successive seasons if still meet criteria and given did not win the Best Young Player Award in the previous season
• Must not have taken the court to represent their country for more than five test matches
• Any nationality eligible

Judging Process
An expert panel of judges comprising current national selectors and former national players will be given a short-list of five nominees based on meeting the above selection criteria.

The judges will then award the nominees a 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 based on the criteria below (5 being the player that best represents the four criteria listed below).

The votes will be compiled from each of the judges and the MARS Red Best Young Player will be awarded to the player with the highest number of votes.  In order to be eligible to win, the player must have played in a minimum of 8 quarters in the season for which the Award is being presented.