The midfield is home to the AFL's most recognised names. This line receives the most individual recognition, sweeping the league's suite of awards most years. Those in the engine room shoulder the responsibility of galvanising their side through winning possession and determining field position.
Midfield groups are usually emblematic of a given team - good teams have good midfields, and bad teams do not.
Here's Zero Hanger's ranking of the league's 18 midfield corps for 2025.
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8. Carlton
Bang for buck simply must be the focus of the summer at IKON Park.
The Blues were the first in the league for first possession, but were woeful in their efforts of converting that into a clearance, finishing fourth last in this metric. Still, Michael Voss' charges finished fifth for total clearances.
Captain Patrick Cripps finally showed signs of wear after years of shouldering the league's heaviest burden, while the likes of Sam Walsh, Adam Cerra and Blake Acres showed that they may have already peaked as AFL footballers, too.
George Hewett started the year in fine touch, and will look to repeat these heroics in 2026.
Excitement continues to surround the debut of Jagga Smith, who missed his debut season through an unfortunate ACL injury.
