Australian rules football fans from the southern hemisphere and the rest of the world are ready to enjoy another exciting season of AFL. Go through our 2025 AFL betting predictions before finalizing your picks for the tournament.
Eighteen teams will throw their hats in the ring for the 2025 AFL crown. This will be the 129th edition of the historic competition, a stalwart on the Australian sports calendar for almost a century.
Starting on March 6, the 2025 season opener features Brisbane Lions, the defending champions, confronting Geelong. Four New South Wales and Queensland clubs will be playing four Victorian counterparts, which falls inside the new Opening Round. These eight clubs will have a bye before round five in order to level the total game count.
Each team must play 23 matches in the regular season to qualify for the playoffs, which is known as the “finals series”. The team topping the standings after the regular season becomes the minor premiership holder, and the top eight in the ladder qualify for the finals. Then, these teams decide the grand finalists through a four-round finals series.
The last two standing meet at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which hosts the final every year, for the championship match.
| ℹ️ Tournament: | Australian Rules Football, 2025 Australian Football League |
| 🏟️ Venues: | Stadiums across Australia |
| 🗓️ Dates: | Thursday, March 6 to Saturday, September 27, 2025 |
The competition has been in existence since 1897, but for the first 92 years, it was known as the Victorian Football League. In the ‘80s, the Australian rules football bodies across the country started negotiations for unification. In 1990, the AFL was born as the nationalization attempts finally paid off.
Why Victoria, you ask? The state’s influence on Australian Rules football was paramount for a century. The region boasted the best teams, the best players, so the current iteration of AFL is seen as a continuation of the VFL.
The first season of the VFL featured eight teams. As we mentioned earlier, it’s an 18-team affair at the moment. Tasmania will join as the 19th franchise from the 2028 season.
With 10 of the 18 teams coming from the Garden State, Victoria remains the heartland of the AFL. Regardless, AFL has taken steps to become a truly all-Australian competition by covering all mainland Australian teams. The AFL has also demonstrated its ambition to reach a global audience by staging matches in all Australian states and territories, as well as in New Zealand and China.
Here’s how the 18 teams fared in the 2024 regular AFL season:
| Teams | Wins | Points | % |
| Sydney | 17 | 68 | 126.7 |
| Port Adelaide | 16 | 64 | 114.8 |
| Geelong | 15 | 60 | 112.2 |
| GWS Giants | 15 | 60 | 109.1 |
| Brisbane | 14 | 60 | 121.9 |
| Bulldogs | 14 | 58 | 125.1 |
| Hawthorn | 14 | 56 | 118.5 |
| Carlton | 13 | 52 | 110.2 |
| Collingwood | 12 | 52 | 102.5 |
| Fremantle | 12 | 50 | 111.9 |
| Essendon | 11 | 46 | 93.5 |
| St Kilda | 11 | 44 | 99.4 |
| Gold Coast | 11 | 44 | 99.1 |
| Melbourne | 11 | 44 | 98.5 |
| Adelaide | 8 | 34 | 99.1 |
| West Coast | 5 | 20 | 68.1 |
| North Melbourne | 3 | 12 | 63.5 |
| Richmond | 2 | 8 | 63.7 |
Here are the last five AFL premiers:
Since five different teams have taken the title home in the last five editions, making Australian Football League 2025 predictions will be no walk in the park. But we have taken a deeper look at the teams to form some constructive assessments.
Aussie rules football bookies have rolled out the latest Australian Football League 2025 odds. Here are the top five title challengers:
The Brisbane Lions produced a stellar comeback last season to clinch the premiership. It worked its way back into finals contention from 13th position in the Ladder. After that, it’s history. The Lions haven’t stopped roaring ever since finding their momentum, and it brought them the title. Predictions for the 2025 AFL, therefore, will strongly favor the reigning premiers.
Football betting sites in Australia are also showing great faith in Hawthorn. Nobody saw them coming last season as they broke into the finals series and secured their first playoff win in nearly a decade’s time. The Hawks have brought in the likes of Josh Battle and Tom Barrass during the off-season. So, Australian Football League 2025 predictions are forecasting another solid campaign for Sam Mitchell’s men.
GWS Giants have shown promising signs in the last few seasons, but the premiership flag has remained out of their reach. Key players like Toby Greene, Stephen Coniglio, and Cal Ward are on the wrong side of their thirties, but recent seasons have shown us that writing off the Giants comes at our own peril. The 2025 AFL betting tips, therefore, should feature the Giants heavily.
Calron had a great start to their campaign last season. They were at second spot halfway through the season, but a mid-season slump derailed their season, and it never went away. The Blues will be looking to improve on their preliminary finals exit this time around. Bookmakers for AFL 2025 are treating them as one of the biggest contenders this season.
Even though they have won only one AFL title in the last 13 years, Geelong has been one of the most consistent AFL sides in recent years. Patrick Dangerfield will lead a team with a great blend of youth and experience. Any betting preview for AFL 2025, therefore, will rate the team highly.
Now that we have gone through the background of the new AFL season and discussed the favorites, it’s time to share our 2025 AFL betting predictions. Here’s what we think:
2 (100%)
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No, we don’t believe last season was a fluke. Mitchell has assembled an impressive roster that can upset the big guns and steer the Hawks to their first premiership in 10 years. Hawthorn finished the season with a 15-5 record in their last 20 games, and in nearly all of them, it would be hard to argue that they put in a below-par performance.
Sydney and Geelong did outplay Mitchell’s men thoroughly, but the Hawthorn unit does seem to have the qualities to build on its last season run. The management did well to make some excellent recruits, which makes us believe we will see the Hawks fly again this season, and this time, they could reach even higher heights.
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This appears to be a no-brainer, considering how consistent Geelong has been over the years. This is a team that has made the top four in the last five regular seasons. Geelong has also shown a knack for finding the best talents to replenish their squads. So, we are not overly worried about the Tom Hawkins-shaped void in the roster.
Olley Dempsey was a gem of a find, and the AFL recognized him with the Rising Star award. Lawson Humphries also seems destined to become a star in future seasons. Sam De Koning, Shannon Neale, and Max Holmes also seem to be players with incredibly high ceilings. Under veteran Dangerfield’s captaincy, this team has the potential to finish within the top four.
1 (50%)
(50%) 1
Damien Hardwick led Gold Coast to a record 11 wins last season. The Suns had a flawless home record in their first nine home games, but Hardwick’s team was hardly as formidable on the road. Essendon and Richmond are the only away matches they won, and it ultimately cost them a top-eight place. With early favorable trips to the West Coast, Melbourne, North Melbourne, and Richmond, the Suns might gain momentum early on to qualify for the finals.
Hawthorn has a great pre-season aura about them that makes us so confident in their title credentials. Also, a quick look at the fixture has us convinced that Gold Coast will play post-season footy this season. That’s why these two will be our ultimate 2025 AFL betting tips.
