As the 2025 AFL season rapidly approaches, discussions often centre around perennial powerhouses and how they will fair in the upcoming year.
There are always teams left out of the conversation for September, however some commentators do so at their own peril. While many teams aren't given the respect they deserve by the media, several teams are poised to surpass expectations and make significant strides in season 2025.
Of course, Hawthorn, Collingwood, and Carlton often feature heavily in the conversation, as the powerhouses that they are in the Victorian-centric media, but the surprise addition to this year's flag favourites are up-and-comers Fremantle. However, none of these teams have actually proved themselves to be serious 2025 contenders.
We need to put the spotlight on three heavily underrated teams who are all too often forgotten in the media, while also addressing the potentially overrated status of three clubs.
6. Overrated: Collingwood
Collingwood fell back to Earth in season 2024, with premier midfield unable to carry their forward stocks like they did so effectively in season 2023.
Their backline fell apart, led by their skipper, and their forward line continued to struggle last year. And unless they can get that rebound structure back this coming season, we could see them missing out on the eight for the second year in a row.
On top of that, they are facing a tough schedule against top opponents, and don't forget they won eight and lost just one when decided by 10 points or less in 2023. If that ledger was flipped, or even more balanced, then they were fighting for the eight in their premiership season. I'm not sold they have anything more than a stellar midfield in 2025.
Of course, any prediction is just that, and in what shapes as one of the closest seasons to date, there are only comfortably a handful of teams that you can cross out as flag potentials in these early days of 2025, and none of them feature on this list.
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