FROM before a ball was bounced, until the final siren on the last Saturday in September, the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season has been packed with big news and massive moments.
Some of the biggest early-season moments included the tropical cyclone that interrupted Opening Round in Queensland, and Richmond’s stunning win over Carlton in the first full round of the season.
Other massive moments that kept fans hooked in 2025 included Harry Sheezel’s record-equalling haul of disposals against Richmond (how many was it again?), Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera’s match-winning performance against Melbourne (and his subsequent re-signing at the Saints) and the sacking of Melbourne’s only living premiership coach, Simon Goodwin.
The big moments kept coming in September as Gold Coast made its first ever finals series and Jamie Elliott took what could well have been the unofficial mark of the year.
History was made off the field, too – AFLW pioneer Erin Phillips joined her father Greg in the Australian Football Hall of Fame and Suns midfielder Matt Rowell stunned everyone by winning the Brownlow Medal.
The moments that got fans talking in 2025
Opening Round cyclone
The hype around the AFL’s season-opening extravaganza quickly turned to concern when it became clear that Tropical Cyclone Alfred was on course to make landfall in south-east Queensland at the same time the Opening Round matches between Brisbane and Geelong, and Essendon and Gold Coast were scheduled to be played. Those two games were postponed, the games in Sydney went ahead, and the Suns and Bombers eventually closed the season on a Wednesday night.
AFL CEO Andrew Dillon at the launch of 2025 Opening Round. Picture: AFL Photos
Tigers stun the Blues
Given the Tigers’ off-season investment in youth, few expected the Richmond to seriously challenge Carlton in their round one clash at the MCG. But no one told the players in yellow and black, as they mounted a stirring and ultimately successful challenge to the Blues. Seth Campbell’s game-sealing goal and backflip celebration will live long in the memory.
Harry Sheezel equals VFL/AFL possessions record
When Tom Mitchell collected 54 disposals against Collingwood on his way to the 2018 Brownlow Medal, it seemed a mark that would rarely be equalled, let alone broken. But it took just seven seasons for young Kangaroo Harry Sheezel to run rampant down in Hobart against Richmond. Fans cheered Sheezel’s every touch in the final term as he closed on the record, and equalled it late in the game.
Nasiah ‘the Messiah’ sinks Demons
Football has never seen a comeback like it. St Kilda trailed Melbourne by 46 points at three-quarter time at Marvel Stadium, only to launch an incredible surge that had its stunning conclusion after the siren. Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, the hottest uncontracted player in the AFL, showed just why he was so highly sought with a dominant final quarter including the last two goals of the game to cap the Saints’ historic win.
Melbourne sacks Simon Goodwin
Less than two weeks after the Nasiah-inspired ‘Miracle at Marvel’, Melbourne decided that Simon Goodwin’s tenure as Demons coach was done, despite being contracted for 2026 and engineering an 83-point win over West Coast just days earlier. Goodwin departed the Dees as the club’s only living premiership coach, having guided the club to the 2021 premiership to end a 57-year drought. But even he knew the catalyst for his departure, ruefully muttering ‘bloody Nasiah’ to the chuckles of the media pack when president Brad Green was asked how much the Saints loss had contributed to the decision.
Gold Coast finally makes the finals (and wins one)
It took 15 seasons for the Suns to play their first final, and it was worth the wait. Gold Coast’s first finals berth was confirmed by the final game of the season – the postponed Opening Round clash against Essendon. Ten days later, club veteran David Swallow delivered the most memorable moment in Suns history, kicking a long point to put Gold Coast in front of Fremantle for the final time in their elimination final in Perth.
Selection surprises on All-Australian night
It was a new-look All-Australian team announced at the AFL Awards in September, with 11 players selected for the first time, while perennial picks Max Gawn (eighth blazer) and Marcus Bontempelli (seven) joining several of the all-time greats. But the biggest talking point was Jeremy Cameron adding the All-Australian captaincy to his resume, along with a fifth blazer.
Jamie Elliott reaches for the sky
The debate over whether the AFL’s mark of the year should include finals games was stoked further when Elliott soared acrobatically for a spectacular grab in the goalsquare during the preliminary final against Brisbane. Was it the best mark of the 2025 season? It’s certainly in the conversation, although official winner Sam Darcy might venture to disagree.
Rowell’s Brownlow
It’s long been a midfielder’s award, and Suns star Rowell is a midfielder’s midfielder. He capped an outstanding season by romping to his first Brownlow Medal, relegating Collingwood champion Nick Daicos to his second successive runner-up finish. Rowell’s great mate and Gold Coast skipper, Noah Anderson, was fancied to claim the medal but he was thrilled to celebrate Rowell’s success.
Lions go back-to-back
Chris Fagan’s Brisbane team is two-thirds of the way to emulating the Lions’ triple-premiership greats from a quarter of a century ago after swamping Geelong in the Grand Final. Lachie Neale’s half of football will go down in folklore after his injection into the game after half-time proved the spark that broke the Cats.
Superstars on the move
Player movement is always among the hottest of footy topics and 2025 is looming as a blockbuster year. Tom De Koning’s long-mooted free agency move from Carlton to St Kilda kicked off the conversation and kept it bubbling for months, while Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera’s hot form and subsequent decision to stay at the Saints on footy’s first $2m-a-year contract brought the discussion to fever pitch amid his side’s massive spending spree. With big names Christian Petracca, Charlie Curnow and Zach Merrett all seeking moves from their clubs in the 2025 Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period, we’re set for a huge month of footy even though the final siren has sounded on the men’s on-field action.
