Cut the B.S: Elijah Hewett and Mahlie Beardman among five budding sports stars to watch in 2025

Each passing year gives new stars the opportunity to emerge and make their breakthrough in the sporting world: here is the pick of the bunch for 2025. Khoa Ngo Amid the gloom of the Glory’s poor start to the season, there is a local, homegrown product fans have taken some solace in: the rise of Khoa Ngo. Having made his debut at the back end of last A-League Men’s season, Ngo showcased plenty of confidence and a zest for one-on-one duels, the slippery winger not taking a backwards step upon his introduction to men’s football. It is a trend which has continued into this season, with Ngo impressing in spite of Perth’s ineptness, continuing to catch the eye whenever he gets on the ball. Australia has generally struggled to produce players with the close control and dribbling ability Ngo is already showing; he still has a long, long way to go to turn his current mark on the landscape into a meaningful indent, but if he is able to contribute to some winning football, it would help. Elijah Hewett Remember him? A top-15 draft pick who endured a sophomore slump through no fault of his own as a foot injury felled him for the entirety of last campaign. With his second year wiped away, there will be a question of rustiness from the young Eagles midfielder, who has fallen behind the likes of Harley Reid, Reuben Ginbey and even Brady Hough and Noah Long in the pecking order of the club’s ‘next great hope’. Even in his rookie year, Hewett never really seized the bull by the horns or oozed potential the way Reid did...but the flashes and glimpses he did show raised eyebrows and marked him as one to file away for the future. While the pressure will be off and expectations low-ish heading into this season, no one is really expecting a breakout campaign from him, but anything Hewett can do to build on last year will be as good as gold to the Eagles. Talia Gibson Gibson has been one to watch for a while, so it is easy to forget the talented tennis player is still just 20 years-old. Heading into December last year, the Peppermint Grove product was ranked 329th in the world; she will enter 2025 at 140, having hit 125 earlier this year. She already has a wildcard locked in for this year’s Australian Open and currently the sixth-ranked Australian, it would not be surprising if she bolted into the top three heading into 2026. Mahli Beardman Everything is coming up Milhouse for Beardman, who has a big fan in Dennis Lillee is primed to follow in the footsteps of Jhye Richardson and Lance Morris as the next big thing in WA pace bowling. The south-west product started the year with a bang, taking a sensational 3-15 off just seven overs to claim man-of-the-match honours in the under-19 World Cup final as Australia toppled India for their first title since 2019. Having signed onto play for the Scorchers this Big Bash campaign, the 19 year-old then found himself unexpectedly skyrocketed into the Australian one-day squad as an injury reserve player. Ending his year with a WA Junior Sport Star nomination, the blonde-haired teen tyro is still on the up and has plenty of room to grow — a scar prospect for opposing batters. Ronan Leahy The 20 year-old winger is a Western Force academy graduate, and will be hoping to build on an impressive 2024. After initially impressing in the Force’s 2023 post-season trip to South Africa, he took his talents to the world stage as he turned heads for Australia at the under-20 Rugby Championship. He made his professional, competitive debut for the Force down the home stretch of the Super Rugby Pacific season and took the opportunity with poise, rarely looking lost and showing off his jet heels on a couple of occasions. While Leahy will compete with Wallabies Dylan Pietsch and Harry Potter, plus former Reds dasher Mac Grealy and holdover George Poolman, it would not be a surprise if he increased his game time despite the crowded outside backs room.