Sydney are again primed for a premiership push despite their coaching change, with Dean Cox inheriting a lethal squad that will again be favoured as a flag chance.
The Swans came mightily close to snapping their premiership drought last year, being the best side throughout the home and away season before struggling to replicate their regular season form on the biggest of stages.
The New South Wales side is home to some of the game's best across all three lines of the field, with most of their leading names only just scratching the surface.
Here we assess Sydney's 2025 squad and select a best 23 outfit ahead of the new season.
Our Best 23 for 2025 series will include players unavailable for the start of the season, except for those expected to miss most or all of the season through injury or suspension.
2. Midfielders
The Swans bat exceptionally deep in the engine room but are also led by a handful of the game's best midfielders.
Isaac Heeney was arguably the competition's premier player in 2024, with the high-impact ball winner having a stellar season as the centrepiece under John Longmire.
Heeney was one of three Sydney players to finish in the top 10 for the Brownlow Medal last year, with Errol Gulden and Chad Warner also polling at least 25 votes to cap off dominant campaigns.
The midfield trio were workhorses in 2024 and earned strong returns in attack to record more than 70 goals between them for the year.
Add in defensive-minded onballer James Rowbottom's career-best year and the full-time return of Callum Mills, and the Swans' midfield contingent is hard to trump.
Gulden will slot onto a wing role with Braeden Campbell and Justin McInerney fighting for similar duties, while forward Tom Papley and tagger James Jordon should also get rotations through the middle.
The cherry on top is star ruckman Brodie Grundy, who returned to near career-best form in his first season in the red and white, giving silver service to his new brigade of ball winners.
Fellow ex-Pie Taylor Adams will hope for a larger role in 2025 given the absence of Luke Parker, however young onballers Angus Sheldrick and Caiden Cleary will have similar plans in mind.
