The home-and-away season has concluded for 2025, and with it comes the confirmation of Zero Hanger's rookie of the year and the makeup of the remaining seven spots inside the Rookie Rankings.
A couple of changes took place in Round 24 as the final top eight rankings took shape, with the trio on the podium officially locked in.
Selection Criteria: Zero Hanger's Rookie Rankings ONLY consider players who have made their debut this season. Other players who may still be eligible for a Rising Star nomination but have already made their debut before the 2025 season will not be considered. I.e. Rising Star eligible players such as Nate Caddy, Dan Curtin and Connor O'Sullivan are ineligible, having already played an AFL match before Opening Round, 2025. Suspension does not make a player ineligible for our Rookie Rankings.
Honourable mentions:
Cooper Trembath (North Melbourne) - 11 disposals, three goals
Sam Lalor (Richmond) - 12.0 disposals, 4.4 score involvements per game
7Angus Clarke (-)
Clarke concluded his 2025 season with arguably the two best games of his career in the same round, demonstrating plenty of promise against Carlton and Gold Coast in the last week.
Against Carlton, Clarke collected a career-high 27 disposals, looking poised along the wing and in defence. He also managed nine marks, three being intercepts.
Clarke backed up this performance with an impressive individual effort against Gold Coast, despite the Bombers being thrashed by 95 points to end a disastrous season riddled with injuries, earning a hard-fought 21 disposals, with a career-best eight contested possessions.
Clarke has proven to be much more than an AFL-ready footballer these past two weeks, evidently having the capability to be a key part of Essendon's long-term future, hence his spot inside our Rookie Rankings.
