Inarguably the most important line in football is the midfield, where the game's greatest superstars and game-changing talents position themselves.
The most likely position to win the AFL's esteemed awards, from Brownlows to Norm Smiths and club best and fairests, midfielders clean up as they roam the full field.
So, who were the 10 best midfielders in the 2025 AFL season?
Before we delve into the 10 best midfielders, here is a group of players unlucky not to be rewarded with a spot on the list.
Unlucky to miss:
Max Holmes - 26.9 disposals, 6.6 score involvements, 626.6 metres gained
Isaac Heeney - 23.6 disposals, 6.9 score involvements, 11.7 contested possessions
Andrew Brayshaw - 27.0 disposals, 5.0 clearances, 6.7 score involvements
Zach Merrett - 27.8 disposals, 3.9 clearances, 6.1 score involvements
Hugh McCluggage - 27.1 disposals, 6.0 clearances, 7.2 score involvements
Ed Richards - 26.0 disposals, 5.7 clearances, 8.3 score involvements
Tom Green - 29.7 disposals, 8.5 clearances, 7.0 score involvements
10Caleb Serong
Serong pips teammate Andrew Brayshaw to earn the 10th spot on the midfielders list after an enormous year for the Dockers, which saw him claim his third consecutive best-and-fairest medal.
Serong's numbers weren't career-best figures across the board in 2025, but his impact was arguably as good as it's ever been, thriving within the contest to make Fremantle an elite contested ball-winning team.
His 14.4 contested possessions per game were just shy of league-best, trailing Tom Green for first place, but were his career-best output, as was his 5.6 inside 50s per game.
Furthermore, despite Fremantle's early September exit, it was through no fault of Serong's, whose 35 disposals and 13 clearances saw him receive a perfect 10 coaches votes. Serong is built for the big stage, and with an expanded finals system, it's likely we'll get to see that again in 2026.
