The 2025 AFL season is finally underway in full with all teams getting a taste of the action. The Hawks look like they might live up to the hype as they are undefeated to start the season, while Geelong, Adelaide and the Gold Coast were also impressive in Round 1. However the big upset was the win of Richmond over Carlton as massive underdogs. Are the Blues in trouble in season 2025?
As usual, we’ll share our thoughts from every match of the AFL season, along with our Brownlow vote predictions and projections using our own system which has a proven profitable history over many years. For full details on how it works, see the section at the bottom of the page. We hope you'll use our free Brownlow tips to help you find value during the season and built a green book before the big night.
For links to every round of the season and full count, head to our 2025 Brownlow Medal Leaderboard page and check out the latest Brownlow Odds.
2025 AFL Brownlow Round 1 Overview
The AFL season is now in full swing with all teams finally seeing some action for season 2025. It was a great debut at new clubs for Dan Houston and Bailey Smith who are likely to poll three Brownlow votes for their efforts in Round 1, while star players Jordan Dawson, Toby Greene, Noah Anderson and Dylan Moore also started the season strongly and should catch the umpire's eye.
Check out our 2025 Round 1 Brownlow votes below and our updated 2025 Brownlow leaderboard here!
2025 AFL Brownlow Votes - Round 1 Match Analysis
Richmond 13.4.82 def Carlton 9.15.69
Upset of the season and it’s only Round 1! Richmond were 50-point underdogs but they were hungrier than Carlton who fumbled and panicked all night. Jack Ross (28 disposals, 7 clearances, 2 goals) and Tim Taranto (30 disposals, 8 clearances) were busy in the middle while Toby Nankervis (21 disposals, 35 hitouts, 7 clearances, 2 goals) led from the front. For the Blues, Tom De Koning (28 disposals, 30 hitouts, 8 clearances) was impressive while reigning Brownlow medalist Patrick Cripps (32 disposals, 9 clearances) will again be in the votes conversation. Tricky game for votes.
Jack Ross - 2.5
Toby Nankervis - 2.5
Tom De Koning - 0.5
Tim Taranto - 0.5
Hawthorn 17.9.111 def Essendon 12.13.85
The glamour team of the AFL, the Hawks are 2-0 to start the season as they were too fast for the Bombers. Dylan Moore (21 disposals, 6 marks, 3 goals) was the match-winner, with Karl Amon (28 disposals, 10 marks) and Jai Newcombe (25 disposals, 7 clearances) in good support. Jye Caldwell (36 disposals, 11 tackles, 10 clearances, 1 goal) was huge for the Bombers, while Zach Merrett (26 disposals, 2 goals) tried hard.
Dylan Moore - 3
Jye Caldwell - 2
Karl Amon - 1
Geelong 23.9.147 def Fremantle 10.9.69
Geelong confirmed themselves as a contender in 2025 with a thumping win over the Dockers. Bailey Smith was a new injection in their midfield and he starred with 32 disposals, 7 clearances and 1 goal. Sam De Koning (25 disposals, 18 hitouts, 1 goal), Max Holmes (24 disposals, 7 clearances, 2 goals) and Jeremy Cameron (15 disposals, 8 marks, 4 goals) were also very good. Andrew Brayshaw (26 disposals, 6 tackles, 6 clearances, 1 goal) and Matthew Johnson (27 disposals) were best for Freo.
Bailey Smith - 3
Sam De Koning - 1
Max Holmes - 1
Jeremy Cameron - 1
Sydney 12.10.82 def by Brisbane 12.14.86
The Lions pinched the win from the Swans to start their premiership defence on a winning note. Zac Bailey was the catalyst with 4 goals from 17 disposals. Josh Dunkley (27 disposals 10 tackles, 1 goal), Dayne Zorko (24 disposals, 2 goals) and young gun Levi Ashcroft (25 disposals) were among the Lions best. Isaac Heeney (23 disposals, 7 marks, 2 goals) and Nick Blakey (24 disposals) had good moments for the Swans.
Zac Bailey - 2.5
Josh Dunkley - 2.5
Dayne Zorko - 0.5
Isaac Heeney - 0.5
Western Bulldogs 17.11.113 def North Melbourne 14.13.97
The Roos showed some good signs but an undermanned Dogs maintained their distance to secure the win. Bailey Dale (29 disposals, 2 goals) and Ed Richards (30 disposals, 7 clearances, 1 goal) might duke it out for top votes, with Tom Liberatore (28 disposals, 8 tackles, 9 clearances) and Joel Frejah (28 disposals, 1 goal) also good contributors. The Roos had plenty of strong performances with Tristan Xerri (17 disposals, 7 tackles, 51 hitouts) huge in the middle, while Jy Simpkin (30 disposals, 7 tackles, 1 goal) and Tom Powell (27 disposals, 8 tackles) are a chance for a vote.
Bailey Dale - 2.5
Ed Richards - 2.5
Tom Liberatore - 0.5
Jy Simpkin - 0.5
Collingwood 21.10.136 def Port Adelaide 6.9.45
The Pies bounced back to inflict an embarrassing loss on the Power. Dan Houston thrived against his old side with 27 disposals on debut for the Pies. Nick Daicos (26 disposals, 1 goal) and Steele Sidebottom (31 disposals, 6 tackles, 1 goal) were excellent, while Tim Membrey (17 disposals, 10 marks, 4 goals) and Daniel McStay (21 disposals, 7 marks, 3 goals) were dominant forces up forward.
Dan Houston - 3
Nick Daicos - 1
Steele Sidebottom - 1
Tim Membrey - 1
Adelaide 21.9.135 def St Kilda 10.12.72
The Crows could be headed back to finals action this year as they started things off with a thumping of the Saints. Jordan Dawson (27 disposals, 9 marks, 2 goals), Jake Soligo (29 disposals, 8 tackles, 1 goal) and Izak Rankine (28 disposals, 7 clearances, 2 goals) were excellent in the middle and should feature in the votes. Jack Macrae had a good debut for the Saints with 34 disposals and 12 clearances.
Jordan Dawson - 3
Jake Soligo - 2
Izak Rankine - 1
Melbourne 11.8.74 def by GWS Giants 11.11.77
The Giants pinched it in the last minute to maintain a perfect start to the season. Toby Greene was the star with 23 disposals and 3 goals. Tom Green (35 disposals, 9 clearances, 1 goal) was a huge boost to the side in return from injury, while Finn Callaghan (31 disposals) and Lachie Whitfield (34 disposals) also won a lot of ball. Max Gawn (24 disposals, 46 hitouts, 7 clearances) was huge in the ruck for the Dees, while Christian Petracca (27 disposals, 2 goals) was also very good.
Toby Greene - 3
Tom Green - 2
Finn Callaghan - 0.5
Christian Petracca - 0.5
West Coast 7.7.49 def by Gold Coast 20.16.136
A poor start by the Eagles as the Suns ran wild out west. New skipper Noah Anderson (36 disposals, 9 clearances) was superb with good support in the middle from Matt Rowell (30 disposals, 8 tackles, 10 clearances) and Touk Miller (26 disposals, 10 clearances, 2 goals). Big Jarrod Witts (13 disposals, 68 hitouts) dominated the ruck with Ben King (6 goals, 11 disposals, 8 marks) kicking a bag.
Noah Anderson - 3
Matt Rowell - 2
Ben King - 1
For those who need a refresher on how our Brownlow vote predictor system works, we assign 6 votes per game so that our total votes are the same as the official 3-2-1 system, however we break up those votes as we see fit across potentially more than three players. Some games are really tough to call which way the votes will go, so a better predictive model is to split performances and assign half points to each player where there is doubt. So for example if two players dominate and it's too hard to split their performance, they are given 2.5 votes each, with the remaining 1 vote given to another player(s). This will give us a predictive total closer to their true total, rather than guessing. We can then form a 'range' for each player (i.e. a min and max we think players can poll) with the thinking behind this that the variations from the half votes will even out over the long term.
If you intend on using our Brownlow votes to bet why not consider one of the best Australian sports betting sites which offer some great features for new customers. Also be sure to check out our Twitter page at @Before_You_Bet and continue returning to the site for our AFL tips.
