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.
RELATED: EVERY AFL TEAM'S BACKLINE RANKED 1-18
14. St Kilda
It took the injection of the league's best half-back flanker in Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera late in the year to revitalise this one-paced line. Youngsters like Hugo Garcia, Darcy Wilson, Hugh Boxshall and Mattaes Phillipou will be expected to carry the load for Ross Lyon moving forward, after a season in which much of the responsibility predictably fell on the ageing shoulders of Jack Macrae, defensive-minded midfielder Marcus Windhager and the now-departed Jack Steele, who averaged the most contested possessions and clearances for the side.
Fittingly, the Saints midfield ranks middle of the road in many midfield metrics, indicative of the club on the whole. The Saints sit around the AFL average for total clearances and first possession to clearance rate, but need to exit stoppage with a little more moxie, after registering the fifth-fewest points from stoppage this season, in keeping with the dour tactics that have become synonymous with Ross Lyon's coaching.
