A funny thing happened on the way to the 2024 Ladder of Trust. I forgot to publish it.
Yep, I had it written, sitting in the drafts, and… that’s where it remains. That’s the type of tight ship I run here, at The Mongrel Punt – always dotting the t’s and crossing the i’s.
So really, I could make any old claim about the results and use the 2024 season to guide it and make myself look like an oracle.
But I won’t.
When I wrote the 2024 Ladder of Trust, I held off publishing it for… well, for reasons I have since forgotten, and then it got ost in the shuffle. Given that, I am not delaying this year. What I will do is point you towards the 2023 version of the LoT, which had both the Swans and Lions as the top two teams.
Maybe there is something to this?
Anyway, trust.
Some think it should be a four-letter word, whilst others offer it without desiring anything in return. It is a precious commodity – one that can lead to joy, or sorrow depending on how it’s used, and it has left a trail of broken hearts for centuries.
In regard to football, trust is one of the facets that make a team special. You look at the line-up they have running out onto the ground, and if you know exactly what to expect from the individuals, you also know exactly what to expect from the team.
Some call it their brand. Others call it their core values. Plain and simple, it comes back to trust.
It is imperative that teammates know what to expect from each other, and in situations where the game is in the balance, it is usually the better teams who trust their teammates enough to win the footy, or make the spoil, or get the vital clearance that go on to win the day. Trust is what makes great teams great.
The Ladder of Trust has become an annual fixture at The Mongrel Punt (except for last season) as we start the slow burn toward a new year. Who do you trust implicitly on your team? Who do you have doubts about? It all comes out in the wash as we sift through each team to uncover where their leaders and strength come from, and where the uncertainty lies within their lists.
So where do the teams sit right now in terms of trust? If I open up a page in the season preview and look at their team list, which teams jump out as the teams with players I trust to get the job done each and every week? If there was one big game, who on each team would I trust completely, and wholeheartedly to get the job done?
Here is The Mongrel Punt’s 2025 AFL Ladder of Trust.
*Position heading into the 2024 season in parenthesis. Any ties are broken by the number of players in the trusted bracket.
The remainder of this article is for our members. They support me, and I provide for them. It’s a good deal.
Oh… you thought the Mongrel coverage ended with the final siren of the GF? No, no, no… HB works year-round, and he works for our members. He believes work such as this is worth a mere pittance per day. If you don’t, that’s fine. You’re welcome to join and keep reading if you do.
