AFL.com.au's Callum Twomey takes a look at the Bombers' growing injury crisis, Carlton's woes, the mid-season rookie draft contenders and the US rockers the AFL should target for the Grand Final, in Monday Cal-culations

BOMBERS' INJURY ISSUES WORSEN

ESSENDON'S tall stocks are being remarkably stretched in an injury crisis, and the Bombers' short break this week has seen another key player ruled out.

AFL.com.au revealed on Monday that full-back Ben McKay's foot issue had him in doubt to face Brisbane on Thursday night, and coach Brad Scott has confirmed the key defender will miss the trip to the Gabba.

The 27-year-old was visibly sore at stages during Friday night's win over Richmond.

The Bombers are going through an injury crisis, particularly with their tall stocks, with at least nine players who are taller than 190cm unavailable: Sam Draper (Achilles), Nick Bryan (ACL), Jordan Ridley (hamstring), Harrison Jones (ankle), Kyle Langford (quad), Zach Reid (hamstring), Lewis Hayes (ACL), Thomas Edwards (ACL) and Nik Cox (concussion).

There are few options to turn to for the Bombers in defence particularly given Reid's injury, which is expected to keep him out for around 3-4 weeks, or likely until after Essendon's bye in round 16.

PICKING HIS MOMENT

SIMON Goodwin must wonder how Melbourne's start to the season would have unfolded with Kysaiah Pickett playing instead of watching on suspended.

Pickett had three games of his ban to serve this year after another bump gone wrong to finish 2024, and he watched as the Demons lurched to a 0-5 opening to the season.

The only thing heard more out of Melbourne over summer than the 'Love Club' was how Pickett was flying and with him in you would expect he could have overturned the three-point loss to GWS in round one that kickstarted a shocking, listless beginning to 2025 for the Demons.

Pickett has made up for lost time and been a huge part of Goodwin's on-the-run transformation of his side this season. The Dees' win over Sydney was their fifth from six games and they are back in the finals hunt.

Pickett produced one of the best games by a player this season on Sunday, kicking five goals from 24 disposals in a best-afield display. It was the seventh highest rated game of Pickett's career and just behind round six against Fremantle, when he kicked five and had 24 disposals then too. There have been only four cases this season a player has had 20 or more disposals and five or more goals and he is two of them. Pickett is putting a strong case to be a first-time All-Australian at the end of the season.

Champion Data shows that since score involvements started in 2003, only four players have had 24 or more disposals, six or more clearances, 13 or more score involvements and five or more goals: Jason Akermanis in 2015, Patrick Dangerfield in 2014, Matthew Pavlich in 2010 and Pickett on Sunday.

So much of the focus on Pickett is on his trade and contract status. That is generated by him, having sought to move on different occasions to different clubs over several years. This season, after his trade deadline day effort to get to the Dockers last year, it is Fremantle most strongly linked and pursuing.

But that speculation at times overshadows the brilliant career the 23-year-old is building. He is up to 179 goals from 114 games, which is more than champion small forwards Eddie Betts (160) and Charlie Cameron (172) had kicked at the same time. But Pickett is doing far more up the field than those two and is Melbourne's mid-forward dynamo.

Like its list regeneration in recent seasons by cherry-picking top-end draft selections to play alongside its stars, Melbourne has also adjusted its game plan this year to get in sync with the fast ball movement, turnover game. Their No.36 has become their No.1 gamechanger.

CATS' FLAG WEAPON

IT IS the 'Chris Army Knife' that Geelong has up its sleeve for all occasions.

As the Cats continue to make tilt after tilt for the premiership, there is one thing the club boasts – and rates and tries – more than others: its player versatility.

Coach Chris Scott has the largest group of players capable of being deployed in more than one spot. Clearly as part of the Cats' recruiting philosophy the capacity to move into multiple roles and positions is rated highly. But it is put into practice by Scott and his coaching panel week to week and season to season.

Gryan Miers has spent nearly 20 per cent of his game time as a wingman this year and the rest as a midfielder. Last year he didn't play on the wing at all.

Patrick Dangerfield has flipped from being a full-time midfielder last year (83 per cent) to mainly a forward in 2025 (72 per cent). Champion defender Tom Stewart played a third of his time in the midfield last year and is still in there 10 per cent this season.

Jack Bowes can go just about anywhere – defence, wing and midfield – while new-found tagger Oisin Mullin has jumped between the backline and midfield. Sam De Koning started the season in the ruck and can go in if required but has settled in defence.

Veteran Mitch Duncan has always been versatile – the 300-gamer has been mainly a defender this season in his game time (53 per cent) but also has been used on the wing and in attack. Mark O'Connor has been a stable defender this year but has done well in the midfield before, while Max Holmes went to half-back last year, won a best and fairest, and is now a permanent midfield option.

Tom Atkins did 20 per cent of his games as a defender last year but is 97 per cent midfield this season, while even star new recruit Bailey Smith has moved around and bought into the dual-position plan, playing 78 per cent in the midfield, 10 per cent on the wing and 12 per cent as a forward.

Ollie Dempsey, the game's most damaging wingman this season, played as a forward for a third of his minutes last year.

And of course there is perhaps the competition's MVP – most versatile player – Mark Blicavs, who this season has split his games in three different ways equally: as a ruckman, wingman and defender. Again that was the case in last week's win over the Western Bulldogs.

Even Jeremy Cameron, now a huge chance for his second Coleman Medal, has previously under Scott been used up the ground on the wing.  

In building the versatility, Scott has engineered a team where no player is fixed and every player is a fix. As the Cats charge again for a top-four finish, it is an asset that has taken some honing.   

BLUES FIRING BLANKS

CARLTON has gone from having firepower to firing blanks.

Michael Voss has a serious scoring problem with his side that, unless he can fix it in the back half of this season, the Blues will again find themselves in stuck in the dreaded middle – good enough to beat lower teams and those around them but without the plan and personnel to regularly challenge the best.

Carlton again peppered the goals against GWS but still lost by 28 points. Champion Data shows they are top six for defence and in their stoppage game, top three for territory, top four in transition both for and against. They have the No.1 contest game in the AFL.

But as teams sweat on turnovers in the modern game, Carlton can't do anything with them. They are ranked second-last in the AFL for turning an intercept to a score. They have the third most inside-50s of any side but are 11th in points scored. They're the worst in the AFL for scores per inside 50s this season.

They also have had the most kicks into the forward 50 of any side and yet they are 17th in the AFL for taking a mark from those kicks. Their forwards get more looks than a fashion show.

Charlie Curnow has kicked 24 goals this season, but nobody else has kicked more than 10, and as the best teams possess brilliant small forwards, the Blues have lacked at ground level.

At 4-7, the Blues are losing touch with the top eight and with Tom De Koning staring down a massive offer to join St Kilda, they face some significant list decisions at the end of the season.

FOO FOR THOUGHT

GILLON McLachlan was in America when his phone rang. It was Michael Gudinski, and the late music legend and longtime promoter had a question.

"How quickly can you get to LA? The Foo Fighters are happy to chat," he said.

It was 2014 as McLachlan's AFL chased one of the world's biggest bands to headline that year's AFL Grand Final entertainment – his first year as CEO.

McLachlan got to Los Angeles the next day and met Gudinski at a coffee shop across the road from where the band was holed up. They walked in and went upstairs and met the band's manager, who was sitting on the floor. When he pulled out a slinky and started playing with it while listening to McLachlan's pitch, the chances didn't seem good.

But McLachlan, renowned for his ability to cut a deal, went downstairs and met Foo Fighters lead singer, frontman and former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, who was cooking a barbecue outside.

It didn't take long for the AFL's pitch of a one-off Foo Fighters Grand Final appearance, in front of 100,000 fans at the MCG, to resonate with Grohl. The band was in.

McLachlan headed home thinking he had secured the biggest get yet for the AFL showpiece, well before Robbie Williams, KISS and Katy Perry lifted the pre-game show into new levels.

But, like Stephen Milne's bounce in 2010, the Foo Fighters went down as a Grand Final near-miss. The production of a documentary changed their plans that year and forced them to pull out.

The reason for this footy folklore now? The Foo Fighters are playing in Indonesia five days after this year's Grand Final. Two days after that they are playing a show at the Singapore Formula One event.

The League hasn't yet locked in its Grand Final entertainment – Williams and Perry were confirmed in the July of their respective years – but if the US rockers are gettable for this year's Grand Final, they should be the AFL's top priority. BYO slinkies. 

FORMER SAINT IN MID-SEASON MIX

FIRST-time AFL players will dominate this week's AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft, but will some delisted options get their chance?

Richmond VFL's Tom McCarthy is locked in to be West Coast's No.1 pick, while after that a range of players are expected to get their first chance in the system.

Key forward Archer May has interest from North Melbourne and Collingwood, while Port Adelaide has been linked to young key defender Harrison Ramm from Glenelg.

With Richmond, Melbourne, St Kilda and Sydney all set to not have a selection, Carlton will have the next live pick, with Jacob Newton having been in the Blues' sights. Caleb Lewis is expected to join Gold Coast, having not played at local level in recent weeks, while Ewan Mackinlay has also caught interest, including from the Western Bulldogs and the Power. Jack Watkins, who spent the pre-season trial period with the Power and plays with the Port Adelaide Magpies, is also in the mix for a rookie spot.

Former Saint Oscar Adams is a chance to get an AFL lifeline, with the former St Kilda tall defender being linked with the Suns, who have lost talls Charlie Ballard and Elliot Himmelberg to ACL injuries this season.

How the Bombers approach the mid-season intake is of most fascination. While they have been widely tipped to add a ruckman, the club could also use selections more to bolster key positions and back in youngster Vigo Visentini to help Todd Goldstein ruck out the rest of the season.

Former Giant and Demons defender Adam Tomlinson has nominated for the rookie draft and has had club interest as a ready-to-go option.

BOMBERS' LATE DRAFT STEAL

ESSENDON needs to nail its early picks as it continues to take a draft-led rebuild. But landing some later picks is going to be crucial in getting it right.

Archie Roberts is already a tick. He had to wait until pick 53 in the 2023 draft to hear his name called, having been linked as a top-30 talent in that year's pool.

Roberts claimed the round five Telstra AFL Rising Star nomination and should be in the mind of judges given his consistency.

He played four games to finish last season but had played all 10 games this year and settled right into the Bombers' back half and in Friday night's Dreamtime at the 'G clash, he had a career-best 34 disposals, including nine intercept possessions.

In his nearly 40 minutes matched up against Tigers forward Rhyan Mansell, Roberts conceded one goal and four disposals. It was the first goal he has had kicked on him since round two against Adelaide, when Josh Rachele booted two while opposed on Roberts.

In between, in the minimum of 30 minutes spent as a match up, Roberts has blanketed small forwards Willie Rioli, Jack Henderson, Jamie Cripps, Will Hoskin-Elliott and Beau McCreery without conceding a goal.

Roberts ranks fourth among the Rising Star nominees this season for Champion Data's 100x Player Ratings ranking – behind only Murphy Reid, Harvey Langford and Sam Lalor.