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Maxwell John Holmes (born 29 August 2002) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for Geelong in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Early career

Geelong traded their future first round pick with Richmond to secure Pick 20 in the 2020 AFL draft to select Holmes.[1] Holmes made his AFL debut in round 3 of the 2021 AFL season against Hawthorn in the traditional Easter Monday clash.[2] Holmes’ mother is former Olympian Lee Naylor.[3] Holmes grew up in East Malvern and played junior football for Prahran[4] and East Malvern Knights in the South Metro Junior Football League.

AFL career

Holmes was an integral part of Geelong’s 2022 premiership campaign, but injured his hamstring in Geelong’s preliminary final against Brisbane. Holmes was reportedly very close to playing in the Grand Final, but Geelong chose not to select him due to the risk of re-injury, and the significant depth they had.[5]

Holmes won the Grand Final Sprint on AFL Grand Final Day 2023.

Holmes won the 2024 Carji Greeves Medal as Geelong’s best and fairest,[6] winning back-to-back awards the following season.[7][8]

He played every game in 2025, the second-straight year doing so, polling best and fairest votes in all games. He was judged the Cats’ best by the coaches in five of those games, against Brisbane (round 3), Gold Coast (round 13), Essendon (round 14), Port Adelaide (round 21) and Brisbane (Grand Final).

The 23-year-old averaged a career-high 26.9 disposals per game this season, including a career-high 40 disposals against Gold Coast in round 15, while also ranking first across the AFL in inside 50s and second in metres gained, showcasing Holmes’ offensive threat and trademark run-and-carry.

Predominately playing in the midfield, Holmes finished second in the AFL for running bounces with 72 and averaged a career-high in clearances. Holmes’ year was recognised ahead of the 2025 AFL Awards, earning a spot in the 44-man All-Australian squad for the second-straight year.

Statistics

Updated to the end of round 5, 2026.[9]

Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2021 Geelong 9 12 1 7 54 64 118 24 32 0.1 0.6 4.5 5.3 9.8 2.0 2.7 0
2022 Geelong 9 18 13 6 161 119 280 68 42 0.7 0.3 8.9 6.6 15.6 3.8 2.3 2
2023 Geelong 9 21 7 5 228 172 400 69 88 0.3 0.2 10.9 8.2 19.0 3.3 4.2 1
2024 Geelong 9 25 13 6 374 231 605 140 74 0.5 0.2 15.0 9.2 24.2 5.6 3.0 10
2025 Geelong 9 26 14 10 436 263 699 140 92 0.5 0.4 16.8 10.1 26.9 5.4 3.5 18
2026 Geelong 9 5 1 2 93 56 149 30 24 0.2 0.4 18.6 11.2 29.8 6.0 4.8
Career 107 49 36 1346 905 2251 471 352 0.5 0.3 12.6 8.5 21.0 4.4 3.3 31

Honours and achievements

Team

Individual

References

  1. ^ “Cats give up future first-rounder to land speed machine”. afl.com.au. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  2. ^ “Shock debut: Cats to unleash speedster on Easter Monday”. afl.com.au. 2 April 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  3. ^ “Heraldsun.com.au | Subscribe to the Herald Sun for exclusive stories”. www.heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  4. ^ “AFL/ VFL Players”.
  5. ^ “Young Cat’s heartbreak: Holmes to miss, replacements named”. 24 September 2022.
  6. ^ “Holmes Wins 2024 Carji Greeves Medal”. geelongcats.com.au. 3 October 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  7. ^ King, Tom (2 October 2025). “Consecutive Carjis for Holmes”. Krock Football. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  8. ^ “Latest News Holmes wins second-straight Carji Greeves Medal”. Geelong Football Club. 2 October 2025. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  9. ^ “Max Holmes”. AFL Tables. Retrieved 13 April 2026.