Shock AFL history, huge Ashes call… and a $100m statement: Top 25 Aussie performances of 2025

From our cricket heroes making history to emerging and already established track athletes firing and dominant displays in the NRL and AFL, it was a big year of sport in Australia.

Here, foxsports.com.au looks at 25 of the best — both on the international and domestic stage.

Watch The Ashes 2025/26 LIVE and ad-break free during play with FOX CRICKET on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.

NICOLA OLYSLAGERS

It was a big year for Olyslagers, who was crowned women’s high jump world champion after claiming gold at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo before then being named female field athlete of the year in December by World Athletics at a gala event in Monaco.

It was a well-deserved honour for Olyslagers, who enjoyed a career-best season having also lifted the Oceanian record to 2.04 metres, won the Diamond League trophy and finished the year as the world No.1 women’s high jumper.

JESS HULL

Elsewhere in athletics, Paris Olympics silver medallist Jess Hull became the first Australian to medal in the 1500m event at a World Athletics Championships.

Hull had come up short in her previous two attempts at the event, finishing seventh in 2022 and 2023, but hung on for third place just 0.09 seconds ahead of fourth-placed Nelly Chepchirchir.

JESS STENSON

It was an emotional moment for Jess Stenson when she made history in December, breaking the Australian women’s marathon record in Spain.

Stenson revealed that she rang the previous record holder, Sinead Diver, after she crossed the finish line and that the pair were in tears, with Stenson smashing her own personal best by 82 seconds to achieve the feat.

“She was so happy for me, and it was so nice to connect with her after the race,” Stenson said of the phone call.

GOUT GOUT

The teenage sprint sensation quickly became a household name this year, making headlines numerous times but two feats in particular stand out.

First, Gout beat his own national record by two hundredths of a second with a time of 20.02 seconds at the Ostrava Golden Spike in June.

Then, in September, Gout earned a spot in the 200m semifinals at the World Athletics Championships. While he didn’t progress to the final, it was a huge step in the right direction for the teenager, who is a superstar of the future on the track.

LACHLAN KENNEDY

Gout also broke the 10-second barrier in a big 2025, but he wasn’t the only sprint star to announce himself to Australia this year, with Lachlan Kennedy also running the 100m inside 10 seconds.

Kennedy achieved the feat in June at a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meet in Kenya, where he won his race with a time of 9.98 seconds.

The two came together at the Maurie Plant Meet earlier in the year in March, where it was Kennedy who upstaged Gout as he won the men’s 200m final.

Kennedy also emerged victorious in the 100m final earlier in the day.

MINJEE LEE

In one of the feel-good moments of the year, Minjee Lee won her third major after a three-shot victory at the Women’s PGA Championship.

With it, Lee became just the fourth Australian golfer after Karrie Webb, Peter Thomson and Jan Stephenson to win three major crowns, having already triumphed at the 2021 Evian Championship and 2022 US Women’s Open.

It was her 11th career victory on the LPGA Tour.

GRACE KIM

While Lee’s victory was more comfortable, it was anything but breezy for Grace Kim as she claimed the Evian Championship in thrilling fashion in July.

Kim trailed by four shots entering the final round and somehow rallied back with an eagle-birdie-eagle finish to beat world No.2 Jeeno Thitikul on the second playoff hole.

With it, Kim joined Karrie Webb, Minjee Lee, Hannah Green and Jan Stephenson as only Australia’s fifth female major winner.

OSCAR PIASTRI

It obviously wasn’t the result Piastri was after in the end, with McLaren teammate Lando Norris finishing strong to claim the drivers’ championship.

But there is little doubt after a highly successful 2025 season that Piastri may not have to wait long for his crowning moment, having etched his name into the history books in August.

Piastri did so by winning seven races in his first 14 to tie Mark Webber for the most Grand Prix victories by an Australian.

He looked on track to pass Webber but struggled in the back-end of the season.

Despite that, McLaren CEO Zak Brown confidently declared he is “convinced” Piastri is “going to be a world champion”.

JOSH GIDDEY

Both at the back-end of last season and the start of this one, Giddey has established himself as a cornerstone piece for the Chicago Bulls after being traded by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Giddey averaged 21.2 points, 10.7 rebounds, 9.3 assists after the All-Star break to close out his first year with the Bulls and has carried that form into this season, even if results have been mixed for Chicago as a team.

The Australian was rewarded for his stellar form with a four-year, $100 million deal in September and while he may not be a clear-cut top option for a championship contender, he has proven he is more than capable of being the secondary playmaker for a top NBA team.

JAMIE MELHAM

It was an emotional scene after Jamie Melham made history at this year’s edition of the Melbourne Cup, becoming the first woman to win both the race that stops the nation and the Caulfield Cup.

In addition, Melham also became just the second woman ever to ride a Melbourne Cup winner, 10 years after close friend Michelle Payne was the first to do it.

Making the moment even more special, Payne was in commentary at the time and had tears in her eyes for Melham, who Payne said “deserved” her moment in the spotlight.

ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI

The Australian UFC superstar was supposed to be done. History said so.

No fighter had ever won an undisputed UFC championship after suffering back-to-back losses. Meanwhile, fighters 35 years or older had a 3-25 record in title fights at welterweight or below.

But after 14 months away from the octagon, a refreshed Volkanovski silenced his doubters as he claimed a unanimous decision win over Diego Lopes at UFC 314 to reclaim the featherweight throne.

Volkanovski will now defend his belt against Lopes in a rematch at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena on February 1.

JACK DELLA MADDALENA

He may no longer be champion, but it was still a special moment when another Australian UFC title holder was crowned in May after Jack Della Maddalena upset Belal Muhammad.

Della Maddalena entered his first-ever title shot on an unbeaten seven-fight win streak but was widely expected to fall victim to Muhammad’s superior wrestling and grappling.

Instead, the Perth native’s takedown defence was clinical as Della Maddalena had his hand raised after a unanimous decision victory.

REECE WALSH

After an improbable run to the grand final, the Brisbane Broncos looked on the verge of falling short of a fairytale premiership.

First they lost Adam Reynolds and then Ben Hunt. But they had Reece Walsh, and the Broncos fullback left his best until last with a standout game on both sides of the ball to inspire Brisbane to glory.

It capped off a stunning run of form for Hunt, who had been pivotal in both of Brisbane’s comeback wins in the finals against Canberra and Penrith.

There were some question marks over Walsh’s defence too entering the grand final, but he more than answered them with crucial one-on-one tackles including a key one on Ryan Papenhuyzen in the dying moments to seal the premiership for the Broncos.

QUEENSLAND MAROONS

It was a big year for Queensland rugby league.

Not only did the Broncos do the double in the NRL and NRLW, but Billy Slater masterminded another Origin ambush as the Maroons made history to stun the NSW Blues in Game 3 on their way to a series win.

Queensland completed 35 of 38 sets in the decider, a 92 per cent completiong rate which ranked the best in Origin history, as Slater’s bold call to drop skipper Daly Cherry-Evans for Tom Dearden paid off.

MATT ROWELL

It was a Brownlow boilover, with Rowell upsetting Collingwood’s Nick Daicos to become the second Suns player to claim the AFL’s top individual gong.

Rowell started the season strong, becoming the first player in Brownlow Medal history to poll three votes in each of his first four games.

He then finished the year off on a tear too, polling votes in nine of his last 10 games of the season to finish with 39 all up, seven ahead of Daicos.

NASIAH WANGANEEN-MILERA

It was a big year for Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, who became the AFL’s first $2 million per season player — and if he is going to keep making plays like the ones he made against the Melbourne Demons, he’ll be worth every cent.

Wanganeen-Milera kicked four goals, including the game-winner, to spark wild scenes at Marvel Stadium as the Dockers stormed home from a 46-point deficit at three quarter time to stage the greatest comeback in AFL/VFL history.

He finished the game with 34 disposals, four tackles, six clearances, nine score involvements and 749m gained to go with his four goals.

KANGAROOS

How could you leave the AFLW’s perfect premiers off the list?

The Kangaroos capped off their undefeated season with a dominant 40-point win over the Brisbane Lions in the grand final.

In doing so, they became the first team in AFLW history to win back-to-back flags having won 27 of their last 28 games.

The one game they didn’t win in that stretch? A draw against Geelong early in the 2024 season.

The definition of dominant.

TRAVIS HEAD

Better than Gilly?

The man himself reckons so.

Travis Head produced a performance for the ages in the first Test at Perth, making 123 from just 83 balls to lead Australia to victory in a thrilling opening Test in Perth.

Head reached the big 100 in only 69 balls, equalling David Warner’s record in terms of opening batters for Australia in Test cricket.

It was shades of Gilchrist’s heroics against England in the 2006-2007 series at the WACA, although Gilchrist told foxsports.com.au he rated Head’s even better.

“I’d elevate it above mine because of the match situation. It is as simple as that,” Gilchrist said.

“In what was a match moving at a frenetic pace, there was nothing to suggest that that was even possible given what had happened before.

“I came in on a 40-degree day against a tired England attack that was cooked after (Mike) Hussey and Michael Clarke hundreds, so yeah, I’m ranking that above mine.”

MITCHELL STARC

Speaking of that first Test against Perth, it wasn’t just Head who was the highlight for Australia.

Rather, Mitchell Starc stepped up without Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood to be crowned player of the match after an incredible performance which saw him record figures of 7-58 and 3-55.

It was just the third time Starc had recorded 10 wickets in a Test match, while it was the first time an Australian quick took a ten-wicket haul in an Ashes Test was in 1991.

AUSTRALIA MEN’S TEST TEAM

There were a lot of performances from the men’s Test team that belong on the list, which makes singling out just one a difficult talk.

But how about the historic win that sealed a 3-0 series whitewash in the Frank Worrell Trophy, when Australia bowled the West Indies out for the second-lowest total in Test history?

The West Indies could only manage 27 runs in 14.3 overs, with Starc again coming up supreme as the Australian fast bowler recorded career-best figures of 6-9.

Scott Boland, meanwhile, chipped in with a hat-trick.

ALANA KING

The Queen of Spin also deserves a mention.

Alana King was unstoppable in Australia’s final group game at the Women’s World Cup, tearing through South Africa’s batting line-up to take seven wickets while giving up just 18 runs.

King’s 7-18 were the best bowling figures in Women’s World Cup history and marked the best bowling performance by an Australian in a women’s ODI.

ALYSSA HEALY

One maestro with the ball, another with the bat.

While King was putting on a spin-bowling masterclass at the World Cup, Healy was dominating with the bat as he recorded two-straight centuries to book Australia a spot in the semifinals.

Healy (73 balls) scored the fastest century of the World Cup in 2025 as she recorded an unbeaten 113, just four days after a 142-run haul against India.

MITCH OWEN

We have to go all the way back to January, but a new hero was born in Hobart as Mitch Owen capped off a stellar BBL|14 season with a stunning century to seal a maiden championship for the Hurricanes.

The Thunder posted a tricky total of 7-182 at Ninja Stadium but it was not enough as Owen blasted 108 off 42 balls, recording the fastest fifty in a BBL final off just 16 balls.

The 39 balls he required to bring up the century, meanwhile, equalled Craig Simmons’ 2014 ton as the fastest in the history of the competition.

Michael Hussey called it “some of the most brutal hitting we’ve ever seen in the Big Bash – if not the world in T20 cricket”.