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.
We have accumulated who we believe are the league's best of the best, but before it is unveiled, here is a list of players who just missed the cut:
Unlucky to miss:
Patrick Cripps
Josh Daicos
Nick Vlastuin
Darcy Cameron
Gryan Miers
Touk Miller
George Hewett
Shai Bolton
Josh Worrell
Josh Battle
Here is the first edition (50-41) of our top 50 AFL players right now...
141st - Callum Wilkie
2024 rank: 38
St Kilda's captain in waiting was arguably the biggest All-Australian snub in 2025 following a dominant career-best season that saw the Saints renegotiate his contract to ensure he did not depart the club for greater reward elsewhere.
His marking game continues to be his strong point, leading the AFL in the metric this season with 8.4 per game in 2025.
He also faced almost as many defensive one-on-one contests as any other key back, and among the 27 averaging at least two per game, had the seventh-best win percentage.
As the Saints look to go from strength to strength with a revamped core in 2026, Wilkie will remain as a pivotal mainstay in defensive 50 as a return to September is very much on the cards.
You have to wonder how these lists are compiled. What do they look for? Clearly it is the flashy players. Collingwood played in the Preliminary Final despite only having 2 players in the top 50. Port Adelaide, Western Bulldogs and Melbourne had, apparently, more of the best players in the competition but couldn’t even make the finals. Go figure.