With the 2025 season inching closer, the second edition of Zero Hanger's forward line rankings are here, with teams 12-7 revealed.
The clubs on this list sit in between the best and the worst, either missing the final piece to create a dynamic, high-scoring attack or, opposingly, have one or two star forwards carrying the forward line from second-rate to decent.
TEAMS 18-13: Every AFL team's forward line ranked: Part 1
Here is Part 2 of our forward line rankings...
The loss of 42-goalscorer Jake Stringer may hurt the Bombers in a season where it's likely they'll have to take a step back to go forward.
Kyle Langford will be given the added responsibility in his absence, with a consistent year potentially seeing him break the 50-goal mark after kicking 43 in 2024.
Nate Caddy will only continue to improve after he gradually built his confidence in his debut year, while the Bombers' latest first-round pick Isaac Kako could provide an immediate impact similar to Hawthorn's Nick Watson.
Peter Wright offers another key forward option, while Jade Gresham was also a fairly regular goalkicker in 2024.
However, the Bombers are lacking a star key forward to take them to another level. Caddy and Kako may well become the future of the forward line but as of right now, Essendon's forward line is as mediocre as they come, ranked 13th for points per game and 16th for scoring shots per inside 50.
The Suns have the up-and-coming talent to potentially have a breakout season scoring-wise, but it depends on their efficiency inside 50.
Despite boasting Coleman Medal threat Ben King, as well as rising youngsters Bailey Humphrey, Ben Long and Jed Walter, the Suns ranked 17th for scoring shots per inside 50, scoring from just 40.8% of entries.
Of course, the Suns had their good moments in 2024, including a score of 164 against Geelong in Darwin, highlighting the promise their club has when they fire on all cylinders.
Unfortunately, another year of failing to meet expectations means we won't buy into the Suns' hype yet, not at least until they can consistently produce high totals weekly.
With veteran experience and exciting young talent, on paper, the Crows have the forward profile of a real contender.
Unfortunately, last year suggested there are still kinks in the armour to solve.
Adelaide ranked 12th for points per game in 2024, averaging 82.9 points per game. It isn't to say the Crows didn't have their moments, scoring over 100 points five times. However, they also were restricted to six games of 10 goals or less, including a return of just 34 points against Fremantle.
Taylor Walker will be a curious watch in 2025 to see if he can continue to be a threat inside 50 as he reaches the latter stages of his career. A decrease in output won't harm the Crows if Riley Thilthorpe can have a breakout year however, as he kicked 15 goals from just seven games in 2024.
Darcy Fogarty is another challenging forward prospect for defenders after a 41-goal season last year. Despite Josh Rachele being criticised for his efforts in contests, the 21-year-old had a career-best season with 30 goals, while Ben Keays displayed his class time after time, notching 34 majors to his name.
Izak Rankine is set to add more midfield minutes to his tally in 2025, but the livewire 24-year-old will be a scoring threat whether he is stationed inside 50 or not.
The addition of Alex Neal-Bullen will be vital in Adelaide's finals aspirations, coming with premiership experience and a knack for hitting the scoreboard.
The Crows look solid on paper, but as last year made clear, on paper talent doesn't necessarily culminate into a good attacking side. We'll have to wait and see if any young up-and-comers make the jump to star forwards in 2025.
The Dockers' young forward line is arguably one of the most exciting prospects ahead of 2025. Just a couple of seasons ago questions surrounded the Dockers' talent in the forward half, but breakout seasons from Jye Amiss and Josh Treacy prove the WA club is on the rise.
However, due to Justin Longmuir's defensive style (which has developed some attacking flair over the last 12 months albeit), the Dockers ranked 10th for points per game in 2024.
The Dockers also ranked midtable for scoring shots per inside 50, scoring from 45.5% of entries.
The X-factor of Shai Bolton in addition to Michael Frederick could provide the dynamic adjustment needed to take the Dockers up the ladder, but his impact is yet to be seen.
Hence, the Dockers' middle-ground averages from 2024 see them placed bang in the middle of our forward line rankings.
Although the Swans made it back to the grand final in 2024, most of their wins stemmed from their star-studded midfield.
Sydney ranked first for points per game but it was largely due to the significant contributions from Chad Warner (35 goals), Isaac Heeney (34), Errol Gulden (15), and Luke Parker (14). From a forward line point of view, the season was quite inconsistent.
AFL fans watched in awe as the Swans ripped the Power to shreds in the preliminary final with multiple goals from Joel Amartey, Logan McDonald, and Tom Papley.
However, a decrease in return from these forwards catches Sydney out, especially when the midfield group cannot shoulder the burden, as was seen on grand final day.
Only forwards Papley and Will Hayward punted majors on the big stage, while Parker, who played in the forward line on the day, booted three in junk time.
Without any off-season additions, Sydney will be hoping for greater consistency from the same key targets in season 2025.
The Bulldogs could be much higher on this list given the volume of talent in the forward line alone, but their goalkicking accuracy was detrimental in 2024 as they bowed out early in September.
In 2024 the Bulldogs had 11 games where they kicked more behinds than majors, including scorelines of 8.22 and 9.18. Had the Bulldogs kicked straighter in just a couple more games, they would've shot up from seventh to second, booking a double chance for the first time under Luke Beveridge's instruction.
There are countless positives to look at at Whitten Oval though. Sam Darcy was close to stealing the Rising Star award, had he not been suspended, kicking 38 goals at 21 years of age. Jamarra Ugle-Hagan kicked 43.35, with his skill errors costing him a smokey effort for the Coleman.
Add in Aaron Naughton as another key target, as well as livewire Cody Weightman and the Bulldogs' forward line already shapes as extremely formidable.
They ranked second for points per game in 2024 too, but alas, they let themselves down on the big stage again.
As mentioned with the Crows, it's not always about the talent on paper that creates the best forward lines. The Bulldogs will have to get the right kicking boots on if they are to climb the forward rankings in 2025.