The award was given to the 21-year-old from the Rhondda - made his Test debut against Scotland in this year's Guinness Men's Six Nations - by the Welsh Rugby Writers' Association (WRWA). Winnett looked to the manor born in his country's colours, cutting an adventurous figure from the backfield with his darting runs that were already familiar to the Arms Park faithful.
The award follows last week's announcement that the Dragons' Aaron Wainwright had been named the WRWA's Welsh Player of the Year.
Winnett's head coach at Cardiff, Matt Sherratt, said of the unassuming Winnett: "He comes in, does his work, and keeps himself to himself but when you watch him train, he’s very consistent in all his actions. He’s got good feet and good hand speed and a good catch pass. It’s the little things I like though. He’s always scanning. He’s got a lot of natural ability and I’m delighted he’s won the award. He deserves it."
Upon receiving the award, Winnett spoke about what has been a huge season for him following a meteoric rise to regional and international honours.
How do you reflect on last season? It was a crazy season to be honest. I didn’t expect to be where I am now. I’m very grateful for the opportunities I’ve had and it’s been a good year.
How have you felt going into this new season? I feel good. I’m still building on last season and hopefully I can take that experience into this one. I’m looking forward to it.
Does having so many experienced players with Cardiff and Wales help you? Definitely. We’ve got a good group of boys here. We’re all helping each other and learning off each other.
What about having Josh Adams as your back-three partner? Obviously when I was coming through Josh was with the seniors. When I trained with them, he was always helping me. It’s been good because he’s very talkative and has been very good for me with advice. I’ve learned a lot from him.
Do you have different goals for this season? It’s to play as much as I can again and to take my opportunities. My main goal is winning games for Cardiff and then hopefully into the Wales squad again this autumn. It’s where I want to be.
What did you learn most from playing international rugby? Obviously you take stuff into Wales, but it’s the intensity of playing at that level. One mistake and you get punished. There is no room for error. That’s what I’ve learned and tried to take into the future.
How would you describe the summer tour to Australia? It was an awesome tour. I really enjoyed it. Not just the rugby, just being out there. Playing a team like Australia was unbelievable. I watched them growing up with players like Israel Folau and Quade Cooper.
Are the Autumn Nations Series and Guinness Men's Six Nations targets? Yes, that’s the aim but at the moment I’m just taking it game by game. Hopefully I can help Cardiff to a few wins.
Best moment of the last 12 months? Definitely my first cap for Wales. It’s every kid’s dream. My cap is in my bedroom at the moment but I’m in the process of moving house so it’s going to go in a nice box on the wall there where everyone can see it. It’ll be the same with my first shirt.
How much has your confidence improved from playing Test rugby? I’ve taken a lot of confidence from the experience I had last season. I’m quite a calm character. I don’t get too nervous. I keep myself to myself on game day. I’m not nervous, I’m just always ready to play rugby. That’s my character. I try to take every game as it comes.
