The Tackle: Jay Clark’s likes and dislikes from round 18
After 20 years of mediocrity, Essendon has hit a new low. Jay Clark writes in The Tackle a looming month of prime-time maulings could stretch the players’ faith beyond breaking point.
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After a sorry suite of games last week, we were treated to some magical clashes in Round 18 – plus what could be the worst game of the season.
Jay Clark gives his likes and dislikes from Round 18.
DISLIKES
1. ROCK BOTTOM
Things are going to get ugly for Essendon over the next month.
With the league’s longest injury list and senior players who could be looking to get out, the Bombers will have to use the whole squad to field a team in the run home.
And after the ugly loss to Richmond on Saturday night, the Bombers could be in for some prime time maulings over the next month.
Unequivocally, the AFL’s big-club fixture gamble on Essendon has backfired in the back half of this season.
The league wants to put games which draw the biggest crowds and television audiences in the prime Thursday and Friday night slots.
But the Bombers are officially a tough watch.
The club was ranked third for moving the ball from defensive 50m to inside 50m in 2023 but that has slumped to 14th in the competition this year, according to Champion Data.
That is why Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick last week said the Bombers typically go backwards and sideways so much.
For a club which has been through the ringer of the supplement saga and multiple sacked coaches over the past decade, the defeat to the Tigers was a new low this season.
And that is against a side which didn’t kick a goal for a full hour through the second and third terms.
The dominoes will be interesting to watch at Tullamarine if Sam Draper departs as a free agent and what that will mean for captain Zach Merrett, Darcy Parish and Kyle Langford.
There may not be a massively strong market for Parish these days considering his repeat injury setbacks but it would surprise no one to watch the Cats pick him up for a steal like a second-round draft pick in a weak draft year.
Expect Langford also to assess his options.
Merrett is putting in his all.
Finals look as far off as it ever has for the red and black, but the club is strategic in the sense that it wants to rebuild a side that can stay at the top for a period of success.
But it is years away.
And if Draper hasn’t signed by this week it is hard to imagine him putting pen to paper on the back of that performance.
Yes, the injuries have wiped out almost half the side and Nic Martin’s expected ACL injury is another disaster albeit just terribly bad luck. Will Setterfield may not play again this year, too, with a foot injury.
But imagine Draper’s thoughts as he watched high-octane Adelaide in the afternoon and then a dreary Essendon on Saturday night, with Brisbane another option as the club shoots for back-to-back flags.
The AFL backed-in Essendon hard to become competitive in the last part of the season as part of the floating fixture but the call hasn’t aged well, in part, due to the club’s injury crisis.
Essendon will feature in four Thursday and Friday night prime time matches over the next five weeks with marquee slots against GWS Giants (round 19), Western Bulldogs (20), Geelong (21) and St Kilda (22) all under lights in the run home.
There will be nowhere to hide for Essendon who clearly knew how tough this year was going to be when it extended Brad Scott’s contract early in the season.
That would be a harder announcement to make at the back end of this season, in the circumstances.
Scott is tied to the club until the end of 2027, knowing they were going to go all out with the kids this year.
The Bombers rightly predicted that they were in for some pain.
And now perhaps unsurprisingly, the playing leaders’ faith is being tested.
Whether the club can stop the bleeding or not could determine whether some of their biggest names want to commit or not.
2. BRITTLE DOWN BACK
It will be the most interesting locker room chat in the league this week.
When the torpedo hit the Western Bulldogs’ September aspirations on Saturday, it was the defence which looked horrible in the 11-point loss to the Crows.
Coach Luke Beveridge has been adamant the team needs only two key defenders, but the plan was brutally exposed against Adelaide.
Rory Lobb has had 35 goals kicked on him this season – the second most in the league – and the lack of a third tall stopper means there is little flexibility to mix-and-match in-game.
If it remains true defence wins premierships, then the Dogs are a mile off it with only one win from eight games against top-nine sides this year.
As good as they look in attack – and skipper Marcus Bontempelli produced another incredible midfield performance in his All-Australian bid – currently this team is more bark than bite.
The club will have considered bringing another key defender last week and Liam Jones and Buku Khamis will have bitten their fingernails off watching the team cough up a season-high 17 marks inside 50m to Adelaide’s ‘Big Three’ key forwards at Marvel Stadium.
Jedd Busslinger was drafted three years ago with a first-round pick with this problem in mind, but if he isn’t going to be picked then he is at risk of being poached.
The bigger problem, however, is he might not be up to it, yet.
The Dogs don’t just leak in the back half, they have bled all season, conceding more than 80 points 10 times in 17 games.
But when the players gather for the review on Monday, Beveridge might have a slightly different take than simply putting the acid on just the aerial efforts in defence from James O’Donnell and Lobb.
He’ll say the source of the issue is upfield and the number of broken tackles and average efforts from the playmakers in the middle allowed the Crows to break through far too easily as Riley Thilthorpe, Darcy Fogarty and Taylor Walker feasted on 11 goals between them.
They were dubbed ‘Bevo’s Brawlers’ for their tough-tackling earlier in the season, but the Crows brushed the Dogs off like lightweights on Saturday.
And the Dogs torched the footy in a way which saw Adelaide score a whopping 11 goals eight behinds for 74 points off turnover. That was another season high.
The first quarter was one of their worst performances of the year.
So, not only is the Dogs’ back line completely vulnerable, the whole team’s balance remains off-kilter against the genuine top teams.
As much as we laud what the Dogs do with the ball, they play footy’s most dangerous game of Russian roulette on offence.
The biggest question in the AFL six rounds out from finals is how much the Dogs are prepared to change the balance of their game to help bolster their defensive actions, because as things stand they could finish the year as a talented bunch of also-rans.
And this season would be a major disappointment if they don’t make the eight with a team featuring Bontempelli, Ed Richards and Sam Darcy.
Against Brisbane Lions at the Gabba on Friday night, the Dogs are at risk of falling eight points behind eighth spot if they can’t upset the reigning premier.
It makes this week some of the biggest few days of Beveridge’s coaching career since the 2021 Grand Final, as he attempts to tweak things.
An upset win would be one of the Dogs’ biggest victories under him as coach, but there may have to be some game style sacrifice.
One of the best offensive sides in the game, the Dogs’ brilliant ball movements looks good when it comes off and Sam Darcy and Aaron Naughton pluck big marks from dazzling centre clearance takeaways.
But the Dogs can also butcher the ball, exposing an already fragile backline.
Granted, the Crows are one of the game’s best at hurting opposition on the rebound.
But if Beveridge isn’t going to break glass in case of emergency and bolster the back line with another stopper, then the balance of the ball movement needs to change.
The defence needs some protection, and that means more care is required.
3. WHAT’S GOING ON WITH THE SKIPPER?
Hawthorn’s defensive recalibration has had some sort of impact on skipper James Sicily.
The gun intercept defender was one of the best backmen in the game in recent years, who controlled games with his commanding aerial power.
But, in one of the most surprising declines of 2025, the superstar Hawk has battled injuries and been down on his usual best this season as the Hawks race to lock in a top-eight spot.
Sicily had 21 touches, seven intercept possessions and one score involvement in the narrow loss to Fremantle in the west on Saturday night.
But he has not been the same player.
The club invested heavily in its back half last year adding Josh Battle and Tom Barrass to bolster the defensive stocks.
But it has clearly impacted Sicily as the Hawks prepare to face their nemesis Port Adelaide after last year’s plane jibe from Ken Hinkley on Saturday.
It will be a tense contest and there is lots on the line as the Hawks are no certainty to make the eight with tough games to come against Adelaide, Collingwood and Brisbane in the run home.
Clashes against Port Adelaide and Carlton in the next fortnight are must win.
And coach Sam Mitchell has his selection headaches with burgeoning forwards Mitch Lewis and Max Ramsden booting nine goals between them in the VFL top keep up the pressure on Calsher Dear and Mabior Chol.
There are plenty of marking target options in the forward half.
The captain, however, has not yet found his rhythm.
LIKES
1. MAGIC MELKSHAM
Simon Goodwin turned to Jake Melksham at the height of Melbourne’s forward line woes this season.
With intense pressure on the coach early, and doubt hovering the club’s young key forward stocks, the man who turned 33 this season became the club’s most damaging and main focal point.
He is a 186cm centre half forward.
Clubs can be in a rush at times to write off players once they hit 30.
And Melbourne is as guilty as anyone after making arguably the worst veteran list management call in history booting former captain James McDonald from the club in 2010.
But there is no doubt Melksham will play on for Melbourne next year after the former Bomber booted five goals to seal an important win for the Demons over North Melbourne at the MCG.
This was an important win for Melbourne which had remained under the pump after five straight losses.
A loss to the rebuilding Kangas at home would have turned the blowtorch right back up to bright blue.
But Melksham, who has come off an ACL, showed why you can’t underestimate old-school footy smarts and determination, because if resilience counts for much Melksham’s leadership under fire has been first class at Melbourne.
In one of the most underperformed forward lines in the league, Melksham has booted 14 goals over the past three weeks – showing expert body positioning and strength in the contest – to give the Demons’ star midfielders a genuine marking target.
Unselfish from Fritsch for Melksham's fifth - that's now 14 goals in three weeks for him. #AFLDeesRoospic.twitter.com/DejAypMnRp
— Melbourne Footy (@MelbourneFooty) July 13, 2025
Half way through the first term he pushed aside key defender Toby Pink in a one-on-one contest at half forward like he was a teenager.
And while some of his midfield teammates are on massive pay packets, Melksham has shown he has been one of the best value veterans in the caper.
His 25 goals for the year are second behind only Kysaiah Pickett who has 30 from the midfield and is surely on track for an All-Australian berth.
Pickett copped a tag from Will Phillips but showed the blinding agility and freakish skill which looks set to make him a top-10 player in the game.
Importantly, things clicked for Melbourne, and despite a wayward start, Christian Petracca turned it on late to produce one of his best games of the season.
He is telling people at Melbourne he is staying for next season, Petracca, despite some consideration to leaving last year amid his internal injuries.
But there might just be enough of a glimpse on Sunday in the win over North Melbourne to show the Demons can yet get it together for a rise up the ladder next season after another big summer trying to bed down the new game plan.
Next summer, however, there will be less focus on the love-in, and repaired relationships.
And more emphasis on fine-tuning the style and skills they need to convert with greater efficiency and execution in the forward half.
Jacob Van Rooyen also had arguably his most encouraging game with 17 disposals but he will have to become the main banana in attack – and not Melksham – if the Demons are going to reduce the gap on the top-eight sides next year.
2. SEASON ALIVE
It was the hit-out of the season which kept Sydney Swans’ season alive.
In the dying minutes of the Swans’ thrilling win, Brodie Grundy pulled out a left-hand palm-down over the back of his head to set up Errol Gulden’s matchwinner.
And it keeps the Swans in the top-eight hunt if they can pull off a football miracle and win all of their last six games.
"I just connect with one of the superstars of the competition and he makes me look good."
— AFL (@AFL) July 13, 2025
Brodie Grundy discusses THAT tap to set up Errol's match winning goal.#AFLSaintsSwanspic.twitter.com/htaayWrNYG
That is not going to be easy considering they have Brisbane and Geelong in the run home but the Swans are living up to their tag as the big danger side in the back end.
And Errol Gulden has reclaimed his title as one of the game’s most damaging midfielders in his return from injury to pip a brave St Kilda.
The Saints had their chances late, but some turnovers including a horror from Mason Wood had coach Ross Lyon pulling his hair out at the death.
But this game was a tale of the two ruckmen to some degree, and Rowan Marshall will no doubt be weighing up his options of a move for 2026.
Those doubting the club’s bid for Carlton’s Tom De Koning need to see again how the Saints were thrashed in the aerial stakes by Grundy 52 hit-outs to St Kilda’s 23.
The Saints were still able to break even in the clearances and conjured eight more inside 50s, but they have been hammered in the aerial battle for the bulk of 2025.
So De Koning will give the Saints the competitiveness, athleticism and reach they lack in the ruck and they will have options to trade Rowan Marshall for a top-30 pick.
Clubs such as Geelong and GWS Giants will make their inquiries on Marshall as the Saints instead look to Alex Dodson, Harry Boyd and Max Heath to play back-up.
In the midfield, the Saints were more than up to the task against a side with a significant amount more class.
They will hope Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, who was again electric in the first half, has seen enough to believe in the club’s vision, and a partnership with De Koning.
3. SPICY BATTLE BETWEEN YOUNG GUNS
Football’s newest spicy midfield rivalry has begun.
Neither Port Adelaide’s Jason Horne-Francis or West Coast’s Harley Reid were taking a backward step when the two number one picks locked horns in the Power win at Adelaide Oval.
The two raging bulls were at each other all night, clashing several times with aggressive push-and-shoves.
Overall, the points had to go to Horne-Francis, who slotted three goals including two brilliant snaps late to shrug off the Eagles’ bright start.
They both had 27 touches as Port triumphed by 26 points.
But the big picture was more significant as the AFL’s next box office player rivalry was born.
And as soon as next season you can lock it in for a prime time slot in the AFL fixture.
Because when it came to the lip-reading, Reid certainly left an impression.
At one stage, the young Eagle put up one finger to remind his Power opponent he left North Melbourne after only one year.
And Reid also appeared to suggest Horne-Francis ought to “go home to mummy” or words to that affect in a brazen take on his homesickness.
But the problem is Reid is also fielding interest to head home to Victoria after an intense start to his career in his second season out west.
Clubs such as Hawthorn, Essendon, St Kilda and Geelong are all into Reid who remains contracted to West Coast for one more year.
If Reid also takes the carrot to come home back to Victoria, you know how Horne-Francis will respond.
Grab your popcorn.
Originally published as The Tackle: Jay Clark’s likes and dislikes from round 18
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