An Essendon young gun has made his first appearance in our Rookie Rankings for 2025 following another strong outing in the red and black in Round 19.
He takes Luke Trainor's spot in our top eight, with the other seven rookies in contention holding their spots from last week.
A Carlton defender had his best game in the navy Blue to earn an honourable mention, joining two Tigers and an Eagles midfielder in doing so.
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
Matt Carroll (Carlton) -
Jonty Faull (Richmond) - 11 disposals, 4 marks, 2 goals
Taj Hotton (Richmond) - 16 disposals, 2 tackles, 7 contested possessions
Clay Hall (West Coast) - 19 disposals, 5 tackles, 1 goal
6Sam Lalor (-)
The Tigers' sidelined young gun holds onto his place in sixth spot, but that could soon be handed to McCarthy if the Eagles defender has another strong game.
As mentioned after his season-ending hamstring injury, it will be hard to see the No.1 overall pick slide out of our rankings entirely by the end of the year.
Midfielder
Disposals
Tackles
Clearances
But with teammates Luke Trainor, Taj Hotton and Jonty Faull looking to break into the eight, someone will need to make way.
