The top 50 AFL players of 2025: 30-21 (Part 3)

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 third edition (30-21) of our top 50 AFL players of 2025... READ: PART 1 (50-41) READ: PART 2 (40-31) 30th - Chad Warner [caption id="attachment_159263" align="alignnone" width="2560"] SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 07: Chad Warner of the Swans celebrates during the 2025 AFL Opening Round match between the Sydney Swans and the Hawthorn Hawks at the Sydney Cricket Ground on March 7, 2025 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)[/caption] 2024 rank: 20 Warner wasn't at his captivating best consistently in 2025, resulting in a slight fall in our rankings. He averaged fewer score involvements than his 2024 heroics that led Sydney to the grand final, and kicked 15 fewer goals after thriving up the ground 12 months ago. With that said, however, Warner's impact for the Swans is still undeniably elite, particularly in attack. Among the 117 AFL-listed midfielders who played at least 15 senior games this season, Warner ranks in the top 20 for score involvements, score launches and goals scored, and top five in forward 50 ground ball gets. The Swans' second half of the season proved they're still a club to be reckoned with and, should Warner remain in form, they'll shape up as a top four threat again in 2026. 29th - Christian Petracca [caption id="attachment_150191" align="alignnone" width="2560"] ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 04: Christian Petracca of the Demons celebrates a goal during the 2024 AFL Round 04 match between the Adelaide Crows and the Melbourne Demons at Adelaide Oval on April 04, 2024 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)[/caption] 2024 rank: 7 Petracca was unable to find his game-winning impact to steady the Demons' ship in 2025, and while individually he performed to his standards, the inability to lead a healthy Melbourne side back into finals contention is hard to overlook if he wished to maintain his top 10 ranking. However, it's evident Petracca didn't go down without trying, involved in over 30 per cent of all Melbourne scores and averaging 25.5 disposals per game, just shy of a career-best campaign. In a new state and surrounded by a dominant engine room, Petracca will likely be featuring in September action again with Gold Coast in 2026, a time of year the soon-to-be 30-year-old has proven he thrives in. 28th - Ben King [caption id="attachment_161219" align="alignnone" width="2560"] MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 29: Ben King of the Suns celebrates kicking a goal during the round three AFL match between Melbourne Demons and Gold Coast Suns at Melbourne Cricket Ground, on March 29, 2025, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Josh Chadwick/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)[/caption] 2024 rank: N/A Ben King's breakout campaign finally arrived in 2025. The key forward kicked 71 goals for the year, and largely stayed at home inside 50, playing a particular role that Damien Hardwick carved out for him as he established himself as the key pillar in Gold Coast's attack. King went at an incredible accuracy rate in 2025 too; 65.7 per cent from 108 shots. That's the third-best shot accuracy this decade among players averaging at least four shots at goal per game. 27th - Jack Gunston [caption id="attachment_162096" align="alignnone" width="2560"] MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 21: Jack Gunston of the Hawks celebrates kicking a goal during the round six AFL match between Geelong Cats and Hawthorn Hawks at Melbourne Cricket Ground, on April 21, 2025, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)[/caption] 2024 rank: N/A Father Time catches everyone eventually, but Jack Gunston defied the inevitable in 2025, securing a second All-Australian blazer as a 34-year-old while kicking a career-high 62 goals in the home and away season. Gunston was instrumental to Hawthorn's success, contributing to 32% of all of the Hawks' score involvements. Among forwards, that was by far the greatest rate of score involvement, and only Nick Daicos (32.4%) and Zach Merrett (32.5%) outdid that number across the league. 26th - Sam Taylor [caption id="attachment_149310" align="alignnone" width="2560"] PERTH, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 24: Sam Taylor of the Giants handpasses the ball during the 2024 AFL Round 02 match between the West Coast Eagles and the GWS GIANTS at Optus Stadium on March 24, 2024 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)[/caption] 2024 rank: 22 The two-time All-Australian took his game to new heights in 2025, dominating in nearly every defensive facet. Only Darcy Moore faced more defensive one-on-one contests, and Taylor's loss percentage of 16.9% is a historic number that ranks him among the league's elite. Given GWS's premiership ambitions, Taylor's importance may be unrivalled by any other defender in the competition, particularly since his supporting cast is quite weak compared to the back six depth of other top eight sides. 25th - Riley Thilthorpe [caption id="attachment_161273" align="alignnone" width="2560"] ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 16: Zaine Cordy of the Saints tackles Riley Thilthorpe of the Crows during the 2025 AFL Round 01 match between the Adelaide Crows and the St Kilda Saints at Adelaide Oval on March 16, 2025 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by James Elsby/AFL Photos via Getty Images)[/caption] 2024 rank: N/A The breakout Crow dominated for the minor premiers as one of the league's most improved players, kicking a career-best 60 goals. Thilthorpe was rewarded with his first All-Australian blazer in 2025 and recorded career highs in goals, disposals, inside 50s, clearances, score involvements and goal assists. 24th - Will Ashcroft [caption id="attachment_169108" align="alignnone" width="2560"] MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 27: Will Ashcroft of the Lions kicks the ball during the AFL Grand Final match between the Geelong Cats and the Brisbane Lions at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on September 27, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)[/caption] 2024 rank: 31 Will Ashcroft is quickly rising the ranks as one of the league's brightest young talents, and another dominant September campaign at just 21 years old will help accomplish that. Ashcroft boasted 27.1 disposals, 3.5 tackles and 5.7 clearances per game in 2025, all significant career-highs, and damaged the scoreboard as a more prominent option in the midfield, kicking 15 goals and contributing to over a quarter of Brisbane's scores. What's wild to think about is just how much room Ashcroft still has to grow. He's not leading Brisbane's engine room yet and his accuracy in front of the sticks is below average, yet he remains one of the AFL's greatest game-breaking talents. A third premiership - and potentially a record-equalling Norm Smith Medal - beckons for Ashcroft in 2026. 23rd - Josh Dunkley [caption id="attachment_169158" align="alignnone" width="2560"] MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 27: Cam Rayner of the Lions and Josh Dunkley of the Lions celebrate after winning the AFL Grand Final match between Geelong Cats and Brisbane Lions at Melbourne Cricket Ground on September 27, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)[/caption] 2024 rank: N/A Dunkley's importance in the Lions' back-to-back premierships is often underrated, but in 2025, AFL fans are beginning to recognise just how valuable he is in his dynamic defensive midfield role. Whether he's shutting down some of the game's greats as a tagger or doing the dirty work in the heat of the contest, Dunkley has turned Brisbane's engine room into a Lachie Neale-led show to a balanced unit, personally averaging 4.8 clearances and 10.8 contested possessions per game. His dominance was truly showcased in the 2025 preliminary final against Collingwood, where Dunkley laid an absurd 18 tackles - the most ever in a final. Dunkley's prime has just begun, which makes the proposition of facing Brisbane a devastating thought for years to come. 22nd - Sam Darcy [caption id="attachment_160078" align="alignnone" width="2560"] MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 28: Sam Darcy of the Bulldogs celebrates kicking a goal during the round three AFL match between Carlton Blues and Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium, on March 28, 2025, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)[/caption] 2024 rank: 48 If not for a knee injury that disrupted the middle part of his year, Darcy was on pace to kick 70 goals in 2025, highlighting just how close he is to making the AFL his world. The physical gifts that Darcy possesses make him an almost impossible task for defenders, with the combination of his size, strength and surprising mobility enabling him to dominate aerially but also at the drop of the ball. Among key forwards, Darcy has the second-best win rate of offensive one-on-one contests, claiming victory in 40.4 per cent of his 3.4 per game. Similarly to King, Darcy has an impressive shot accuracy of 63 per cent. If he can remain fully fit in 2026 and bolster his shots at goal to the levels of a Jeremy Cameron or Jack Gunston, he could very easily wind up as a top 10 player in the AFL in 12 months time. 21st - Finn Callaghan [caption id="attachment_159357" align="alignnone" width="2560"] SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 09: Finn Callaghan of the Giants kicks the ball during the AFL Opening Round match between Greater Western Sydney Giants and Collingwood Magpies at ENGIE Stadium, on March 09, 2025, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)[/caption] 2024 rank: N/A One of the biggest breakout stars of 2025 was GWS's young midfield talent Finn Callaghan, who quietened doubters about his reported mega-offer from St Kilda with a stellar Opening Round performance against Collingwood. He continued to impress throughout the year, recognised with best-on-ground performances in the Round 20 Sydney Derby and a 37-disposal and six-clearance domination of the Eagles in Round 17, which polled him a perfect 20 votes in Zero Hanger's MVP award count. Callaghan never recorded fewer than 21 disposals in 2025, further illustrating his extraordinary growth this year as he entrenched himself as a key component of the Giants' midfield next to Tom Green.

		P	W	L	PTS	%
1	SYD	1	1	0	4	191.3
2	GC	1	1	0	4	181.2
3	GEEL	1	0	1	0	55.2
4	CARL	1	0	1	0	52.3
5	ESS	0	0	0	0	0
6	WB	0	0	0	0	0
7	ADEL	0	0	0	0	0
8	MELB	0	0	0	0	0
9	FRE	0	0	0	0	0
10	WCE	0	0	0	0	0

The top 50 AFL players of 2025: 30-21 (Part 3)

Ranking the league’s best talents from the year gone by 👇

READ: PART 1 (50-41)
READ: PART 2 (40-31)

25th - Riley Thilthorpe

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