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Sport Nation
The 10 players that must play well in September
SEN • September 2nd, 2025 7:00 pm
Which players are crucial for their teams ahead of finals footy action?
The stars will turn up and play their brand, but it takes more than an individual to progress into the latter stages of September.
But which individuals must turn up in order for their respective clubs to win it all in 2025?
SEN WA's Scott Cummings has compiled a ranking of the 10 players he believes are a necessity for their teams in the coming weeks.
“You know what you’re going to get from a lot of players, but you need a couple to bop up here and there to take your team to another level,” Cummings told SEN WA Breakfast.
See Cummings' list below:
10. Ben King (Gold Coast)
“If Ben King plays well… he’s up against it, has to play against Alex Pearce who did a great job on Sam Darcy.
“He kicked seven last week against a team that wasn’t interested, but he needs to have a very, very big game.”
9. Toby Greene (GWS Giants)
“Finals are a different beast. Toby Greene’s your skipper. He plays well, then GWS will be right up to their necks in it against Hawthorn.”
8. Dan McStay (Collingwood)
“For most of the year, he hasn’t been able to draw a football, but he is one of their most important players, with the way they continue to bomb it long into their forward line.
“If Dan McStay plays well, he will be Collingwood’s most important player over the finals period.”
“He might only have a week in him, because if he doesn’t look like he’s going to step up in the finals, he might be off this list.”
7. James Sicily (Hawthorn)
“He’s fit; he looks fresh. He is their most important player.”
6. Harris Andrews (Brisbane)
“You know what you’re going to get from McCluggage and Dunkley and those sorts of blokes.
“Andrews won’t get (Jeremy) Cameron, but he’ll get Shannon Neale, who has been very very good and is showing more every week.”
5. Hayden Young (Fremantle)
“We know how important he is going to be. No Fremantle supporter needs to be convinced of that.”
4. Noah Anderson (Gold Coast)
3. Jeremy Cameron (Geelong)
2. Nick Daicos (Collingwood)
1. Riley Thilthorpe (Adelaide)
“The most important player in the final’s series for his team.
“If he can have a finals campaign where he rips it to shreds, Adelaide will be very, very good.”
