Welcome to Zero Hanger's top 50 player rankings for 2025 - a list based primarily on a player's 2025 production in addition to their career pedigree and future projections.
The bar is as high as ever to impact as an AFL footballer consistently, let alone to a star level. All-Australian discussions are in constant debate as several guns often find themselves snubbed from proper recognition.
Here is the final edition (10-1) of our top 50 AFL players of 2025...
READ: PART 1 (50-41)
READ: PART 2 (40-31)
READ: PART 3 (30-21)
READ: PART 4 (20-11)
1st - Marcus Bontempelli
2024 rank: 1
If Marcus Bontempelli played a full 23-game season in 2025, there's a good chance he would have won the Brownlow Medal, as the 30-year-old's impact was simply something to marvel at on a weekly basis.
After missing the first five rounds, Bontempelli exploded onto the scene in Round 6, tearing apart a St Kilda side who had been building momentum to that point with 30 disposals, eight clearances and 12 score involvements.
He'd follow that up with six more performances of at least 30 disposals, eight performances recording 10 score involvements or more and became the first player since Gryan Miers in 2023 to average at least 1.5 goal assists per game.
Yet, despite all those sensational figures, Bontempelli's year flew under the radar somewhat, given the Bulldogs fell short of a finals appearance and the superstar was unable to truly compete in the Brownlow count due to his missed time.
It highlights the level of dominance that has simply come to be expected from the Bulldogs star, and it's something that should not go underappreciated. Hence, Bontempelli heads into 2026 as the AFL's best player.
