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Cooney’s AFL players (& cricketer) who need a big summer
SEN • November 19th, 2025 1:30 pm
Adam Cooney has listed the players he believes must have a massive summer.
Whether it be a disrupted 2025 campaign, a big off-season club change or for other reasons, these players need to get themselves super fit so they can give their club everything in 2026.
The 2008 Brownlow Medallist also threw one cricketer into the mix who he reckons needs to deliver this summer.
See Cooney’s five below:
Carlton Football Club
Cooney: “The Blues as a whole are number one on my defining summers list.
“All of them, number one on the list.”
Sam Edmund added: “You could probably stretch that list out to seven or eight guys down there.
“Harry McKay is definitely one of them now that Charlie Curnow has departed. They need a big season from him.”
Cam Green
Cooney: “He needs a big Ashes series just to cement his spot and to get to that next level in his career which we think he’s going to get to.”
Tom De Koning
Cooney: “You’re getting paid big money, you want big results.
“St Kilda has splashed and they’ve dashed and they’ve thrown out plenty of cash.
“The decision affected his footy at Carlton this year, and I think it affected the team overall with those distractions and him not playing to the best of his ability.
“Rowan Marshall is staying and that throws a spanner in the works (for De Koning). He needs to get that relationship right.
“De Koning needs to nearly knock off Max Gawn as the no.1 ruck if he’s going to be paid that much.
“We need St Kilda to improve significantly and a lot of it will be off the back of Tom De Koning’s performances.”
Jedd Busslinger
Cooney: “They didn’t trade for a key defender.
“He’s only played a handful of games, he’s been on the list for a few years.
“He’s a Pick 13, so he’s the future of this Western Bulldogs defence. Rory Lobb has been a revelation back there but ‘The Slinger’ has got to take the big dogs.
“He’s got to be ready for that challenge after a few years in the system and prove his worth.
“Because if the Dogs are going to improve they need to shore up their defence and their team defence as a whole needs to get better. They need to lock down some of the big key forwards.
“It’s a big year for The Sling.”
Will Day
Cooney: “Not just his foot but his whole body.
“When he plays they play well. He just doesn’t get out there enough, unfortunately.
“He has the ability to be a superstar. He can elevate the Hawks to a premiership if he is fit and makes an All-Australian team.”
