<
>

Every AFL club's biggest question ahead of season 2025

What's the big question your AFL club must answer in season 2025? We've looked at all 18 teams and posed the most pressing question that fans will be desperate to have answered as early as possible.


Adelaide

Can a Crow (or two) take a giant leap in 2025?

If you were to use just one word to describe Adelaide's list, 'solid' springs to mind. The Crows have a bunch of reliable players all over the ground, some talented offensive options, and potential break out stars. But if this club is going to return to finals after an eight-year absence, there will need to be a major jump in production from someone on its list. Think Isaac Heeney last year. Or even Jesse Hogan. Sure, it's a big ask, but that's often the difference between a contender and those making up the numbers, or worse. Riley Thilthorpe, Darcy Fogarty, Izak Rankine, I'm looking at you.

Brisbane

Will the Lions' hunger for success remain?

We've seen it time and again. A team wins a premiership, enters the following season as an overwhelming favourite to repeat, then they surprise everyone by slumping to a mid-pack record and failing to fire a shot in September. Brisbane deserves to be the team to beat in 2025, but don't underestimate just how tough it is to back up after tasting the ultimate success. So why should we believe this team can buck the trend? There are so many key players that didn't feature in last year's Grand Final who will be desperate for their own premiership medal. That in itself could be enough to keep motivation high throughout the long, taxing home and away season.

Carlton

Can the Blues uncover some depth?

Patrick Cripps, Charlie Curnow, Sam Walsh, Jacob Weitering, and Harry McKay. Nobody would deny Carlton's top-end talent is as good, if not better, than any other team in the league, but in each of the last two seasons, a lack of depth has led to the club's downfall. If the Blues are to become that bona fide premiership contender, they must begin to get contributions from the lesser lights and lighten the load on the aforementioned usual suspects. The club's depth will be tested early on with reliable defender Nic Newman and draftee Jagga Smith both already ruled out for the season, but the ability to successfully plug holes is what the great teams do well.

Collingwood

Was 2023 or 2024 the real Magpies?

In 2023, Collingwood stitched together one of the most clutch seasons in AFL history to clinch a record-equaling 16th premiership. Last year, it failed to play finals football and looked anything but a side many had pegged as the next football dynasty. So, what should we expect from the Magpies in season 2025? I often believe the truth is somewhere in the middle, and it's no exception here, but all options appear to be on the board this season. The addition of Dan Houston is significant and there's no doubt the club is in win-now territory given it's the oldest and most experienced list in the league.

Essendon

Can the Bombers sustain a high level for an entire season?

The Essendon fadeout has been on full display in each of the last two seasons. In 2023, the Bombers' 8-5 record at the bye turned into 11-12 by season's end. Last year was even more disappointing, the club winning just three games in the final 11 weeks, after having won eight in the first 11 rounds. Consistency throughout the entire home and away campaign is what every Bombers fan will be crying out for ahead of season 2025. If Essendon can find it, a finals berth may well be on the cards. If it can't, prepare for more disappointment.

Fremantle

Is the Dockers hype for real?

Fremantle appears to be a trendy preseason pick for the league's biggest riser. Some even believe a Grand Final appearance might be on the cards in 2025. That's a huge amount of expectation on Justin Longmuir's squad, which begs two questions. First, can the Dockers handle the pressure? And second, are they really that good? Fremantle has a formidable defensive unit, a star-studded midfield, one in which Nat Fyfe has basically been reduced to a depth piece, and a young, talented forward line. They also added livewire Shai Bolton to the mix. Perhaps this really is their year.

Geelong

Is the Cats' new-look midfield good enough?

There's no doubt the Cats tick plenty of boxes, but the one glaring question mark remains its midfield group. The addition of Bailey Smith obviously helps tremendously, but is a soon-to-be 35-year-old Patrick Dangerfield someone Chris Scott can really rely on week in, week out? Will he even be spending that much time in the midfield? There's also Cam Guthrie, who is now 32 years of age and has played just 10 games since the end of 2022. If the Cats are to have success, it will need consistent production from the likes of Tom Atkins, Tanner Bruhn, and Jhye Clark. But even then, will that be enough?

Gold Coast

Can the Suns win away from home?

Gold Coast's inability to win games away from People First Stadium was one of the major discussion points throughout season 2024. Amazingly, the Suns went over 400 days without an away win before snapping the unwanted streak with back-to-back victories over the lowly Bombers (even that one took a kick after the siren) and Tigers to close the year. If this club is to secure a maiden finals berth, winning on the road is simply a non-negotiable. Even if the Suns maintain their impressive record on the Gold Coast, they'll need to be winning at least four or five times away from home for the football public to begin taking them seriously.

GWS

Can the Giants move on from last season's total heartbreak?

As sports fans, we all love to play the 'what if' game. And there's no better what if than GWS' 2024 season. The Giants were 44 points up on eventual premier Brisbane in what had been a one-sided semifinal in western Sydney. Amazingly, they lost the game. Who knows how far they could have gone without suffering that horrific capitulation, but it would have surprised nobody if they went on and lifted the premiership cup. We cannot underestimate how difficult it is to deal with that mental trauma all offseason. But if the Giants have been able to completely shake it off, they will almost certainly be a bona fide premiership contender once more.

Hawthorn

How do these young Hawks handle expectation?

For five months of season 2024, Hawthorn was the best team in the competition. That's no hyperbole. The Hawks were the best scoring team, best defensive team, and put together a remarkable 15-4 run (eight of those wins by 45+ points). They've since won a final and added a pair of elite defenders in Tom Barrass and Josh Battle, all of which bolsters expectation for this upcoming campaign. As such, this season will be a totally different proposition to last, with the Hawks in many ways now becoming the hunted, as opposed to the hunter. Is Sam Mitchell's young group mature enough to handle that? We'll soon find out.

Melbourne

Can the Demons have a rare drama-free year?

Since winning the 2021 premiership in dominant fashion, the last three years have felt a little like a soap opera for Melbourne. There's been a plethora of off-field issues, ranging from the totally inexcusable to the downright bizarre, all of which has had a negative impact on game day. For three straight years the Demons have failed to win a final, something nobody would ever have believed in the wake of that recent premiership success. There's no doubt Melbourne still has enough talent on its list to be a serious flag threat in 2025, it just cannot continue becoming embroiled in distracting headlines.

North Melbourne

Can the veteran presence reshape North's culture?

The Kangaroos don't need to win many games in 2025 for it be a successful campaign. The club has loaded up on young talent over the past four seasons and soon enough (surely) those top-end draft selections will pay on-field dividends. This past offseason North Melbourne signed league veterans Jack Darling, Luke Parker, and Caleb Daniel, someone on every line that can help develop the young brigade and instill a winning culture. It's a shrewd move for the club, as it looks to finally exit football's wilderness and become a team that's taken seriously.

Port Adelaide

Can Connor Rozee rediscover his spark?

Up until only a fortnight ago, the job security of long-time Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley was unquestionably the most intriguing storyline surrounding the club in 2025. But with the Power's coaching succession plan now in place, attention will quickly turn to the form of skipper Connor Rozee. After appearing on track to become a top 10 player in the competition, Rozee went through a rather stark regression. Is he now Port's third-best midfielder behind Zak Butters and Jason Horne-Francis? Probably. Is his best footy played in the forward line? Perhaps. If Port is to send Hinkley off in style, Rozee needs to rediscover that scintillating form.

Richmond

Can the Tigers avoid a totally demoralising season?

How many wins will Richmond score in 2025? One? Two? Zero!? The one thing we can likely all agree on is that it's not going to many. The Tigers have completely torn it down in the hopes of an expedited rebuild, the trade-off being at least a few years of severe pain. We're likely to see at least half a dozen kids debut in the yellow and black before we reach the halfway point of the year, so it's tough to see them being competitive. What you don't want to see from a Tiger perspective is a totally uncompetitive year that leaves the playing group completely demoralised heading into the offseason.

St Kilda

Can the Saints kick winning scores consistently?

Sure, St Kilda is coached by the ultra defensive Ross Lyon, but that doesn't mean they cannot or should not have to score points. Last year, the Saints averaged just 76 points per game, down from 77 in each of the two previous years. Same old, same old, indeed. They kicked a triple-figure score on just five occasions last year, only once going above 108 points. St Kilda can continue to hang its hat on the defensive end, but it also needs to put points on the board if it's to actually fight for a finals berth. Who can do it? Well, that's a whole other question...

Sydney

Can the Swans get the same production out of their 'Big Three'?

As far as football trios go, very few have ever enjoyed the type of production we saw from Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, and Errol Gulden in 2024. Sydney's 'Big Three' combined for 75 disposals, 29 contested possessions, 14 clearances, 17 inside 50s, and 3.5 goals per game, leading the club to a second Grand Final in three years. The Swans have become incredibly reliant on this star-studded trio, but will they be able to get that type of extraordinary output once again, or is a slight regression on the cards? You get the feeling the answer to that question will determine just how deep they can go.

West Coast

Can Harley Reid have a Nick Daicos-esque year No. 2?

With all due respect, the Eagles aren't playing for much in season 2025, and nobody would be surprised if they finished in the bottom three yet again. What fans should be looking for is development from the next generation of players, specifically 2023's top selection. If Harley Reid really is the player many believe, you would want him to take a giant leap in year two. We saw Nick Daicos do exactly that from 2022 to 2023, very nearly winning the Brownlow Medal in his sophomore season. Reid doesn't have to have that type of otherworldly season, but he'd want to end the year with little doubt in anyone's mind he's already a top 30-40 player in the competition.

Western Bulldogs

Can the Bulldogs avoid a horror start?

The Bulldogs have been a middling team for three straight seasons now, and if there's any hope of becoming the true contender many often believe they should be, they simply cannot afford a slow start to this campaign. The club could be without Liam Jones, Adam Treloar, and Jason Johannisen for the first month of the season, while spearhead Jamarra Ugle-Hagan also figures to miss time. Given the Bulldogs face a rejuvenated North Melbourne, then flag fancies Collingwood, Carlton, Fremantle, and Brisbane in the first five weeks, it's very possible the Bulldogs could be playing catch up if they don't get it right from the get-go.