The AFL landscape was once again defined by storylines of significance in 2025.
Paradigm-altering trades, moments of individual brilliance and administrative decision-making were just some of the sagas to fuel the perpetual news cycle this season.
So with most of the year in the rearview mirror, let's count down the 10 biggest stories of 2025, with some honourable mentions to kick us off!
Honourable mentions
- Richmond's Round 1 win over Carlton
- Jeremy Cameron's pursuit of the elusive 100-goal season
- The departure of Melbourne's dynamic midfield duo of Petracca and Oliver
- AFL scraps the bounce as the method of restarting play
- Tasmania's stadium gets parliament approval
7Cyclone Alfred rains on the AFL's Opening Round parade
The weather threw an additional spanner into Andrew Dillon's Opening Round brainchild, with Cyclone Alfred's Queensland landfall cutting the four-game slate to two and causing unique consequences.
Essendon's clash with the Gold Coast Suns was moved to the Wednesday following the final round of the home and away season, with the Suns needing a victory to secure the first finals berth in their young history.
Conversely, the Bombers had nothing to play for following a miserable campaign. As such, the result was a one-sided parade of sorts for Damien Hardwick's men.
While debate raged regarding the feasibility of the fixtures going ahead in the monsoonal conditions, multiple players, including two-time Brownlow Medallist and Brisbane co-captain Lachie Neale, came forward to say they would not be participating should the games go ahead.
As they say, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry, and this rather severe weather event was a timely reminder of that sentiment for AFL administrators, whose attempts to grow the game in the northern frontier were stymied in this particular instance.
