Prodigious pair to explode; second-year Pie set for spike — Every AFL club’s 2025 breakout star

The AFL silly season for early 2025 predictions is in full swing — meaning optimism for fans of all 18 clubs should be at an off-season high.

From high-end draft picks to maturing youngsters, every team boasts players ready to blossom after another gruelling summer of pre-season under their belts.

Foxfooty.com.au predicts the next wave of breakout stars ahead of a new campaign.

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ADELAIDE CROWS

Riley Thilthorpe

If Thilthorpe can get through the 2025 season unscathed and free of injury, he is as good a chance as any player on this list to turn heads like never before. A torn lateral meniscus reduced the West Adelaide product to just six full games this year, but he still managed to average more than two goals a game in a side that didn’t contend for the finals. With next season seemingly the last for veteran star Taylor Walker, Thilthorpe looms as the long-term replacement alongside the more mature and recently re-signed Darcy Fogarty. At just 22 years of age and with his physical strength as good as any key forward in the competition, the 53-gamer is all but certain to impose himself next year.

BRISBANE LIONS

Will Ashcroft

It’s genuinely remarkable to think that a Norm Smith medallist is still yet to have a breakout season, but here we are. Granted, Ashcroft’s first two seasons in the league have hardly been the norm, but 2025 is set to be his first full year at the top level. The 20-year-old played 18 games in his debut season before he ruptured his ACL, returning in Round 16 this season — and hardly skipping a beat, averaging 22.9 disposals per game across 13 senior matches. His 30 disposals and a goal — for already the third time in his short career — gave him best-on-ground honours in the grand final, but if his ceiling is as high as most think it is, that sort of output will become what we expect of him on a weekly basis.

CARLTON

Jesse Motlop

The 20-year-old has had a relatively unassuming start to his career despite scattered glimpses and mightn’t have had an outstanding season this year, but with more room for growth in 2025, Motlop could make a big impact. Motlop played just seven senior matches this year after 21 a season ago, having this year battled toe and hamstring injuries. The South Fremantle product kicked 24 goals in 2021, doubling his rookie season total as he flashed exciting glimpses. With Matthew Owies and Jack Martin having departed the club this off-season, and with Zac Williams no certainty to be available all season, the door of opportunity opens for the 40-gamer, who was selected with the 27th pick in 2021 with big things in mind. Keep an eye on the three-year forward next season, particularly in a contract year.

COLLINGWOOD

Lachie Schultz

The former Dockers forward didn’t have the year he would’ve hoped for in 2024, but given his side was depleted by injury, he wasn’t always set up for success. In saying that, not many can appreciate the thankless defensive role he plays from a pressure perspective. Regardless, with what will hopefully be a healthier Magpies side, plus the additions of Dan Houston, Harry Perryman and Tim Membrey, Schultz should be able to re-find the form that saw his current club pay up for him at the end of last year. The former Williamstown star will have turned 27 years of age come the start of next season, so the goalsneak should be welly and truly in his prime — and a part of what shapes as a premiership contender once again. He snagged a career-best 33 goals in his final campaign with Fremantle, which he absolutely could eclipse in 2025.

ESSENDON

Nate Caddy

The club’s enigma — for all the right reasons — played 10 games in 2024 and never failed to capture the eyes of Bombers fans. With a clear appetite for a contested grab, Caddy’s best performance came amid a heartbreaking one-point loss to Gold Coast late in the season — kicking three goals from 15 disposals. With Kyle Langford, Harry Jones and Peter Wright all in and around the club’s best 23 as marking targets, there’s a chance 2025 could still be a bit of a waiting game for the Yarrambat product. But should he get a good run at opportunity as some expect him too, get ready to see him cause chaos inside forward 50. He has ‘game-breaker’ written all over him.

FREMANTLE

Josh Treacy

Fremantle’s 195-centimetre beast is incredibly only 22 years of age — a frightening reality for opposition defences as a decade of havoc looms. His 45-goal tally in 2024 was arguably a breakout of sorts; but with another 12 months of maturation and experience in tow, he could well explode next year. Further, the presence of Jye Amiss, Luke Jackson and Shai Bolton in the same forward line not only stretches the opposition but means there isn’t an individual burden for any of them to carry. And while Amiss has a ‘breakout’ claim of his own, there is just an aura with ‘The Big Cohuna’ entering next year.

GEELONG

Shannon Neale

The prospective successor of retired stalwart Tom Hawkins, Neale holds a lot more responsibility going into next season. The keys to Geelong’s forward line will soon be his. His superstar partner-in-crime Jeremy Cameron still has a few golden years left to give, but having developed at the Cattery for a full four seasons, expectations for the 22-year-old Neale are rising. All that being said, the South Fremantle product was ultra-consistent in 2024, kicking at least one goal in the first 14 games of his 15-game campaign. A smart footballer with a mature build and skillset for his age, the 20-gamer has the capacity to skyrocket next year.

GOLD COAST SUNS

Bodhi Uwland

The runner-up in the Suns’ best and fairest this season, Uwland is not your typical eye-catching player. A lot of his work this season went unnoticed by many, but thankfully not by Damien Hardwick and his coaching staff. In truth, if you’re not noticed as a lockdown defender by viewers, it’s more likely than not you’re doing a good job. He is certainly a different mould to many others on this list, but all signs point towards him playing an even bigger role in defence in 2025 — which may just finally see him ranked with the competition’s better defenders. Further, Uwland will be joined in 2025 by younger brother Zeke, who is one of the highest-touted prospects at next year’s count.

GWS GIANTS

Aaron Cadman

The 2022 No. 1 draft pick had a slow start in the first year of his AFL career — much like most other developing key forwards when they enter the league. But in his second year, he excelled; despite playing as a tall alongside eventual Coleman medallist Jesse Hogan. It often takes a few seasons for players in his role to hit their straps, but signs are pointing up for the 20-year-old — which is an ominous prospect for opposition defenders. The Greater Western Victoria Rebels product kicked at least one goal in 19 of 23 senior games this year and looms as an ever-reliable second option while Hogan continues to do his thing. Hogan is likely to receive more attention from rivals in 2025, opening the door for Cadman to explode. Jake Riccardi and Max Gruzewski will be eyeing ascents into Adam Kingsley’s best side, but Cadman remains in the box seat entering the new season — particularly with Riccardi serving a two-game ban to start next year as part of the Giants’ post-season party penalties.

HAWTHORN

Connor Macdonald

Having played 66 senior games in three years at Hawthorn, Macdonald has gotten more than a taste of the professional level. After all, the 21-year-old just wrapped up a career-best season as the Hawks stormed into finals calculations from oblivion. There’s a strong argument that this year was his breakout year, and that would be fair — but the former Dandenong Stingray has plenty more to offer than he already has, and he could take it to a whole new level of breakout next season if he maintains his trajectory. Macdonald’s 17.4 disposals, 5.3 marks and 6.2 score involvements per game this year rated elite in comparison with fellow general forwards, and that output was just scraping the surface of his potential. Watch out in 2025.

MELBOURNE

Trent Rivers

Now 100 AFL games into his career, Rivers is set for a crucial role in Melbourne’s side as it aims to return to the finals next season. Given the opportunity to show his wares between the arcs after Christian Petracca’s season-ending injuries, the 23-year-old Western Australian impressed and is evidently now an X-factor magnet for coach Simon Goodwin to throw in the engine room at different points in games. Equipped with a cannon for a right foot, and a smart user of the Sherrin, the East Fremantle product appears primed to make an impact regardless of the position he plays. After posting a career-high 21.3 disposal average this season, 2024 might be considered his breakout year — but you get the sense there is more development to come for the former No. 32 draft pick.

NORTH MELBOURNE

Paul Curtis

After 59 goals in 59 games at Arden Street, the 21-year-old has largely impressed given North’s lowly form in recent seasons. With 2025 shaping to produce more promising results for the Kangaroos, Curtis should be able to go one better than his 30-goal 2024 tally — which would be a positive output from a small forward. The injection of Jack Darling into North’s forward line is a bonus for the Keilor product, giving him another key attacking target to crumb off of at forward-50 contests. His start to AFL life has been more than serviceable, and now he looks set to springboard as the Roos prepare to turn a corner. Electric with the ball in his hands, it wouldn’t surprise to see Curtis occasionally inserted at stoppages going forward.

PORT ADELAIDE

Jase Burgoyne

The son of Port Adelaide premiership player Peter Burgoyne, Jase stepped up at the back end of his side’s 2024 season as former teammate Dan Houston served a costly suspension. With a dual-All-Australian-sized void to fill, the 21-year-old performed admirably in bridging the gap during a finals campaign that saw the Power reach the penultimate weekend. Having tasted life without the now-Collingwood rebounder Houston, Burgoyne will be relied upon even more as a counter-attacker. Like every youngster making their way on the big stage, his game isn’t perfect yet — but if the end of this year was any indication of what’s to come, strap in.

RICHMOND

Tom Brown

The 21-year-old’s pure kicking skills have been a marvel throughout his first 19 AFL outings, and the best is yet to come. While he was trialled in the forward half to end this season just gone, Brown best projects as a mid-sized interceptor with promising rebounding capabilities. The 19-gamer’s play style mimics that of premiership stalwart Nick Vlastuin — which should have Tigers supporters grinning from ear to ear — and heading into year four, a true coming-of-age campaign from the Murray Bushrangers product should be on the cards. With Daniel Rioli departed, Dylan Grimes retired and Vlastuin and Nathan Broad now into their twilight years, the door of opportunity is wide open for Brown to take the reins of this back six for years to come.

ST KILDA

Mattaes Phillipou

The young gun admittedly had a quiet first year and a half at Moorabbin, but he sure found his feet in his final four games this season. A mixture of inconsistency and injury cost him more senior appearances throughout the middle of the year, but something suddenly clicked for the 19-year-old at the back end of 2024 — suddenly accumulating at a higher level and impacting with every touch. When not through the midfield during his purple patch, Phillipou was effective as a high half-forward, kicking a goal in each of his last six matches in 2024. Big things were promised of him in his draft year, and the Saints are starting to bear the fruits — and the best is yet to come.

SYDNEY SWANS

Matt Roberts

One of Sydney’s unsung improvers this season, Roberts has taken to a role off half-back like a duck to water. With the likes of Jake Lloyd and Robbie Fox entering their twilight years, the South Australian is every bit capable of emerging as a long-term rebounding replacement — and faster than we might think, too. Racking up possessions as many as 36 times in a game off the half-backline, the 21-year-old is evidently someone who can link the defensive half with attack. He’s thus far been a quiet achiever at the Swans amongst a bevy of superstars, but now with 30 senior games under his belt, he’s ready for a rapid ascension as Sydney plots another deep finals run in 2025.

WEST COAST

Harley Reid

Undoubtedly the least surprising selection of any player on this list, the 19-year-old is set for a monstrous 2025; given his ceiling and potential is arguably as high as any player the league has observed in recent memory. So much so, it almost feels wrong to name him — but ahead of just his second season, he still fits the bill. After a strong maiden campaign at the top level, the prodigious ball-winner will have benefited greatly from his first 20 games and is now set to hold the keys to West Coast’s midfield for at least the next decade — if the Eagles can convince the Victorian to stick around. Reid’s contested possession rate of 52.7 this year was elite among midfielders.

WESTERN BULLDOGS

Sam Darcy

The father-son pup showed glimpses this year of the formidable forward spearhead he was predicted to become in his draft year. Darcy has managed 41 goals across just 28 senior games thus far, and an impressive 38 majors from 21 outings this year alone. While he has had to compete with the likes of Aaron Naughton, Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and previously Rory Lobb for a spot in the forward line, it is becoming increasingly clear the 21-year-old has the highest ceiling of the lot and will be a part of the Bulldogs’ plans for plenty of years to come. The Glen Iris junior also managed an above-average 4.9 marks and 5.7 score involvements per game. Expect big things in his fourth AFL campaign.