Hawthorn defender Ryan Burton and Essendon No.1 pick Andrew McGrath are set to battle it out for this year’s AFL Rising Star award.

The winner of the prestigious award will be announced on Friday at a ceremony in Melbourne.

Port Adelaide’s Sam Powell-Pepper and Carlton’s Charlie Curnow are also expected to figure prominently in the voting, but bookmakers believe it will come down to either Burton or McGrath.

Burton played 20 games in his second AFL season and received his nomination after a brilliant defensive job on Adelaide star forward Taylor Walker in round two.

The 20-year-old averaged 21 possessions a game – he had a career-high 29 against Collingwood in round 17 – and booted four goals in his breakout season.

The talented junior was widely tipped to be a top-10 draft pick but slipped to 19th overall at the 2015 draft after he suffered a badly broken leg.

McGrath, the top pick at last year’s national draft, played 20 games in his first season and averaged 20 disposals.

His nomination came after a 28-possession game against Adelaide in round four.

McGrath has won rave reviews for his poise and creativity off half-back and won high praise for blanketing Crows star Eddie Betts in round 21.

Burton could join previous Hawthorn winners Nick Holland (1995) and Sam Mitchell (2003), while McGrath could be his club’s second winner after Dyson Heppell (2011).

To be eligible for the Rising Star award, a player must be under the age of 21 at January 1st and have played no more than 10 AFL games to the start of that season.

A player is also ruled ineligible if he is suspended at AFL or state league level during the season.

This year’s voting panel is made up of Gillon McLachlan, Kevin Bartlett, Luke Darcy, Andrew Dillon, Danny Frawley, Glen Jakovich, Chris Johnson, Cameron Ling, Matthew Richardson, Warren Tredrea and AFL talent manager Kevin Sheehan.