Year one’s in the books for the 2025 draft crop. Time to re-rank them.

Some coaches drafted on reputation and got burned. Others found gold in the back half of the board. I’ve gone back through every game log, every CBA number, every stretch of form, and settled on my top ten for keeper and dynasty leagues.

This isn’t about who’s the best AFL player right now. It’s about who’s building the platform for the biggest fantasy career. Big difference.

1. Willem Duursma

Willem Duursma played 22 games and averaged 72.1, with two tons and nine scores of 80 or more. Top score was 109 against Essendon.

That’s solid enough on its own. What sold me was the middle of his season. From round 5 to round 12, nine games straight, he averaged a fieldable 84.6. Getting a run like that where you can actually field him in year one is exceptional.

His scoring from transition sat at 44.2, a great platform to build from. He hit 30% centre bounce attendance for the season, going 50% or higher in five games, and had seven games where his market share hit 6 or higher.

Context matters here too. West Coast were the second-lowest scoring team in the competition at 1419, against an AFL average of 1540. The top five teams were all 1600-plus. He built those numbers inside a team giving him almost nothing to work with.

Verdict: Number one for me. If the Eagles find even a bit more scoring as a team, Duursma’s ceiling goes up with it.

2. Dyson Sharp

Dyson Sharp managed 15 games at 70.9, two tons, five scores of 80+, topping out at 102 twice. Once against the Hawks and the other vs the Cats.

The year told two stories. His first five games averaged 47. His last six jumped to 92.7. And he did all of it carrying a bung shoulder.

Here’s the part that changes my read on him. My worry was that he’d be a primary stoppage base scorer, capped by how much of the ball gets fed to him at the coalface. Only three of those last six big games came with 50% or higher CBA. He’s shown he can score on transition, not just at the stoppage.

It’s early, but the ceiling question is the one that matters most for dynasty value. If you asked me who’s most likely to average a minimum of 90, I’d say him. Has he got 110 in him? I’d lean towards others ahead of him on that one.

Verdict: Locked in as a top-two building block. The ceiling debate is the only thing keeping him off the top spot.

3. Zeke Uwland

Zeke Uwland played 17 games, averaged 57.6, with one ton and three scores of 80+. Top score was a monster 146 against the Magpies.

He walked into keeper drafts with all the hype as a number one pick, and the season didn’t make that easy to hold onto. His first nine games averaged just 45, with only two above 50.

Then came the turn. Rounds 16 to 19, a four-game block, averaged 97.3. Yes, the 146 helps that number, but nothing in that stretch dropped under 77. As the year wore on he looked more settled, more himself, out on the wing.

The move that changes everything is a shift to a flank or inside midfield role. If that happens, it’s on. Of this whole draft class, he’s shown the biggest ceiling of anyone.

Verdict: The riskiest basement in the top five, and the one with the most to gain if his role opens up.

4. Sullivan Robey

Sullivan Robey played 15 games at a 62 average, zero tons, one score of 80+, topping out at 89 against the Dockers.

He was last year’s bolter, taken on power and upside, on the traits that earned him the Bont comparisons. A five-game stretch from round 9 to 13 saw him average 77.

Zero tons is a fair criticism. But he genuinely grew his keeper stock in my view. He attended over 130 centre bounces across the season at an average of 33%, which tells you the midfield trust is already there. The scoring just hasn’t caught up yet.

Verdict: Patience pick. The role’s built. Now it’s about the numbers matching it.

5. Jacob Farrow

Jacob Farrow might be my personal favourite out of this whole crop. 21 games, a 71.9 average, two tons, seven scores of 80 or more, topping out at 102 against Melbourne.

Off the back of the draft, Dylan Alexander compared his traits to Jordan Dawson and Hayden Young. Watching him play, I can see exactly why. Back-to-back tons in rounds 4 and 5 showed the ceiling early. Then a ten-game stretch from round 10 to 20 averaged 76, showing the floor is just as real.

Elite kick. Strong hands. Good decision maker. That’s the kind of profile that ages well in this format.

Verdict: Top five, no argument from me. This is the safest bet in the class for long-term output.

6. Sam Swaddling

Sam Swaddling only played nine games, but averaged 70 with two tons and two more scores of 80+. Top score was 110 against Brisbane.

He looks right at home on the wing, which is the hardest role in the game to trust for scoring. Two tons to end the year, when he made that role his own. Three if you count the wildcard loss.

He’s bumped down purely on sample size, nine games isn’t much to judge a career on let alone only a couple of good games. Based on where he’ll likely sit on ADP, he was a genuine waiver pickup in most keeper leagues right now. That makes him a brilliant long-term stash, and a hard one to trade for given his last three AFL games were all tons.

Verdict: Buy now while owners are still asleep on him. This price won’t last.

7. Sam Cumming

Sam Cumming played 14 games, averaged 58.6, no tons, two scores of 80+, topping out at 86 against the Eagles.

If you asked me which of the bottom five in this class has the most chance of surprising into premium territory, it’s him. Smart, powerful, clean, strong. Players built like that just take time to build their tank and their confidence.

He’s genuinely the player I’d be targeting right now. He sits in that sweet spot of good signs without being obvious, even to his own owners.

Verdict: The value play of the whole list. Go get him before the rest of the league catches on.

8. Josh Lindsay

Josh Lindsay played 15 games and averaged 66, no tons, three scores of 80+, topping out at 97 against the Saints.

Safe, reliable kick. Looked completely at home across the Eagles’ half-back line. The recruitment of Herbert midseason cost him some opportunity, and interestingly, that hit came right off the back of five good games in a row where he averaged 80.

Verdict: Solid, unspectacular, and worth holding. The role’s there once the traffic clears.

9. Daniel Annable

Daniel Annable managed just three games for a 40.7 average, no tons, no scores of 80+, topping out at 53 against the Swans.

He went alongside Uwland as a number one pick in a lot of keeper and dynasty redrafts. A preseason injury derailed his entire chance to start the year. Three games, no midfield opportunity, when he should have had it.

With Neale and Bailey both likely on the way out, more opportunity is coming. He’ll be hard to prise out of a squad. Keeper owners tend to hold on when a rookie has an injured year rather than a poor performing one, and that’s the right call here.

Verdict: Ignore the season stats completely. This is still a top-two talent in the class, just delayed by a year.

10. Sam Grlj

Sam Grlj played 21 games and averaged 55.1, no tons, one score of 80+, topping out at 90 against Carlton.

He started 2026 on fire and slowed as the year went on. Three of his four highest scores came in the first month of the season. His weapon is speed, pure and simple.

If he becomes the long-term answer for run and carry off half-back, this pick could pop as the Tigers improve as a team.

Verdict: Speculative, tied to team improvement more than his own numbers.