The home-and-away season has concluded for 2025, and with it comes the confirmation of Zero Hanger's top recruit of the year.
A couple of changes took place in Round 24 as the final top eight rankings took shape, with the trio on the podium officially locked in.
Welcome to the weekly rankings of the Recruit of the Year contenders for 2025, as we unveil who made the most impact in their new colours this season.
4Shai Bolton (-)
The Dockers recorded a famous away win to clinch a Finals berth against the Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon, and unsurprisingly, Shai Bolton had his fingerprints all over it.
The shifty forward kicked two goals and had seven score involvements in the 15-point win while playing around the ground, featuring in almost half of the centre bounces for Freo. He was damaging around the contest, claiming eight contested possessions and using the footy at an efficiency of 78.9 per cent - close to his best efficiency of the season.
While Bolton's season has had its ups and downs, it's impossible to knock him out of the top four, especially when his scoreboard impact is factored in. Only Bailey Smith averages more score involvements per game among recruits this season, and Bolton's involvement in 29.9 per cent of all Fremantle scores not only bests every recruit this season, but leads Fremantle as a team as well.
To put it simply, Fremantle aren't back in September without Bolton and could very well go deep into the finals series if he maintains his elite form for another month.
