AFL.com.au's Callum Twomey takes a look at who should one day take over as Essendon captain, how an ex-Blue is firing at the Cats and much more in Monday Cal-culations
THE TEAM THAT HAS FORGOTTEN HOW TO WIN
MELBOURNE has become a team that has forgotten how to win.
The Dees have won just six of their past 22 games and, despite a better showing against Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Sunday, gave up a 28-point lead in the second term to get rolled for their fifth straight loss.
Their mini-run of five wins from six games between rounds six and 11 has been snuffed out and they look set for a bottom-five finish on the ladder.
From key players to the less experienced, Melbourne remains unable to make the most of its chances and Simon Goodwin, save for running out there and kicking them himself, hasn't been able to find the solution.
Champion Data shows the Demons rank last in the AFL this year for shot at goal accuracy (41 per cent). Their final quarter accuracy – when games are on the line – is also the worst of any team in any quarter this year (36 per cent). They are also second worst in first and second terms.
Since their disastrous semi-final loss to Carlton in 2023, when they kicked 9.17 and were booted out of the flag hunt, the Dees rank 15th for accuracy and 12th for scores per inside 50. Whatever they caught that finals series has lingered.
Equally concerning, though, has been the dramatic drop-off in the Dees' defence, which was the bedrock of their success in 2021 and the key factor in challenging since. They were the No.1 ranked team for stopping scores per inside 50 entry in 2021, 2023 and 2024 and ranked third in 2022. This year, they are ranked 18th in the AFL for the crucial stat.
The clash with the Crows showed Melbourne some better signs. Jake Bowey has become a half-back gun, Kozzy Pickett again stood up, Trent Rivers was better, Jacob van Rooyen regained some touch, Daniel Turner is a defensive find and Harvey Langford and Xavier Lindsay are 10-year players. There has been a list regeneration on the run and talented youth have been added.
But the reality is, like against Greater Western Sydney in round one, Collingwood on King's Birthday and more, Melbourne again had its chance to win but didn't.
WHY DURHAM CAN BE ESSENDON'S NEXT CAPTAIN
ZACH Merrett and Sam Durham combined for 24 clearances against Gold Coast on Saturday. It was a new record for Essendon between two players in one game. Their tally of 24 of Essendon's 35 clearances (69 per cent) was the highest ever percentage by two players in a game.
These two are the Bombers' best players and having Durham back from suspension and Merrett back permanently in the midfield was critical in Essendon's better showing against the Suns on Saturday.
But Durham should not just be trying to emulate Merrett in being one of the elite midfielders in the game.
Essendon has struggled to find a breadth of leaders underneath Merrett, who is into his third year as Bombers skipper, but in Durham they have a player who can be their next captain.
That time is a fair way off, with Merrett able to hold onto the role for as long as he wants given his consistency and high level of form. But Durham's aggressive 'follow me' playing style has him already pegged as an on-field leader – evidenced in his fantastic 27-disposal and 12-clearance effort against the Suns.
Champion Data makes clear Durham's emergence among the best. He is rated the 27th best player in the AFL in the 100x rankings, while Essendon wins the centre clearances 41 per cent of the time when he is in there, which is a better rate than its other players used more often at centre bounces.
He is averaging career highs for AFL Player Ratings, disposals, contested possessions, groundball gets, clearances, score assists and score involvements. Champion's numbers also show that of the top 50 players for contested possessions this year, Durham is equal third for the best disposal efficiency at 75 per cent (behind only Andrew Brayshaw at 77 per cent, George Hewett at 76 per cent and equal with Will Ashcroft).
Durham, who turns 24 this week, is the spiritual heartbeat of the Bombers and plays with an edge, bravery and fearlessness that stands out. Not only that, the mid-season recruit is a genuine high-end player who changes games around the ball, in the air and without fuss. Casual Essendon watchers will see glimpses but those at the Bombers know how important Durham is to their long-term plan.
And building him to be a leader within the team will be his next step. It should be seen as a four-year project for the Bombers. The laidback Durham doesn't chase the spotlight, hasn't forgotten his country upbringing and is still developing as a player in only his fifth season. He is as popular as any at the club and will be an actions-rather-than-words leadership candidate, having still getting the confidence to find his voice at the club.
But Essendon has a leadership void underneath Merrett, who turns 30 in October. The champion left-footer and five-time (soon to be six?) best-and-fairest winner wants to play for a long time yet, but the club has to be thinking about the next group and having Durham front and centre to that eventual succession.
'TIGGA' GETS HIS MOMENT
NICK Vlastuin has never been an All-Australian. He has only been in the All-Australian squad once.
He has never won a Richmond best and fairest. He has been in the top three of the Jack Dyer Medal twice.
He has never been the Tiger on billboards, nor the frontman to their golden run of success.
And he has never shirked an issue, a quality that continues right up until his 250th milestone match this week for the Tigers. Whether his bump on Patrick Dangerfield on Saturday was Vlastuin seizing the chance to get one back on the Cats captain for the crashing connection that knocked Vlastuin out in the 2020 Grand Final or not, the Tigers' No.1 made sure Dangerfield felt it.
That's been the way of Vlastuin throughout his career. The Tigers wanted Vlastuin long before he was theirs.
The captain of Vic Metro's under-18 side in 2012, he had impressed Tigers scouts through the year and on the AFL Academy's tour of Europe early in the season. His season had its ups and downs but 'Tigga' remained firmly in their plans.
Heading into that year's draft, there were a few 'locks', including Lachie Whitfield at No.1, and Calder Cannons teammates Jonathan O'Rourke and Lachie Plowman at No.2 and 3 behind Whitfield as the Giants looked to group mates together.
Back at the No.9 pick, Richmond was willing through Vlastuin, knowing he was their man as Damien Hardwick built a team in his own image. It has played out to be the perfect selection.
Whitfield, Jake Stringer, Jack Macrae, Ollie Wines, Brodie Grundy, Aidan Corr, Jack Viney, Kamdyn McIntosh, Rory Atkins, Mason Wood, Tim Membrey, Jake Lloyd, Dane Rampe and Zac Williams are the only remaining players from the 2012 intake still in the AFL, with Joe Daniher and Lachie Hunter retiring last year.
Vlastuin sits comfortably in the top handful from his draft class, taking on and shutting down forwards of all shapes and sizes through his career whilst underpinning Richmond's defensive group.
The 31-year-old is signed until the end of next year, but will go close to joining the illustrious Richmond 300 Club down the track.
JUMPIN' JACK
LOOK away Carlton fans. Geelong's 'Chris Army Knife' is at it again.
When the Cats landed Jack Martin as a freebie at the end of last year under delisted free agency rules, the ex-Blue and Sun arrived at his third club under an injury cloud and keen to prove his worth.
The Cats have taken the long-term play with Martin as he has worked his way back from injury, and he played the best of his four games for the Cats against Richmond on Saturday.
He had 25 disposals off half-back and wing, nine marks, six inside-50s and five score involvements and looked more than assured in his backline role.
And once again, the Cats have looked to find the different skillsets from their players. The most versatile list in the competition has unearthed Martin as a half-back and he looks comfortable in the role, having never played there at Carlton and only in snippets whilst at the Suns.
Already this year he has spent 28 per cent of his game time as a defender and 45 per cent as a wingman. Across his five years at Carlton, he was never used as a defender and only spent two per cent of his time as a wingman – at the Suns it was 17 per cent as a defender and nine per cent as a wingman.
Scott doesn't see players for what they are but what they could be. Give the Cats coach a t-shirt and he'd see a scarf, a singlet, vest or (most likely given Geelong's penchant for these) a headband.
Martin is one of a number of ex-Blues on rival lists, with Matt Kennedy (Western Bulldogs), Will Setterfield (Essendon), Zac Fisher (North Melbourne), Paddy Dow (St Kilda) and Matt Owies (West Coast) all departing Princes Park over the past three off-seasons.
Shedding those players for picks cleared salary cap space for a team that has been tight in recent seasons with a top-heavy list behind the 'Big Six' (Patrick Cripps, Jacob Weitering, Sam Walsh, Charlie Curnow, Harry McKay and Tom De Koning) but also shed experience from their mid-tier.
BALANCE NEEDED ON GAME STOPS
THE HOLDING up of games for potentially injured players is well intentioned and comes after the Lachie Schultz saga earlier this year.
But the stopping of play with an eye on players who have come off second best was happening well before that incident with the Collingwood forward.
As game time blows out this year – so much so that Sunday afternoon games have been brought forward five minutes to be finished before the 6pm news – there still needs to be a balance between pausing the game for serious concerns and allowing other players to find their feet in their own time.
Collingwood and Carlton's clash was stopped on Friday night when Nick Daicos landed on his backside after a marking contest. He was sore for a couple of seconds but the game didn't need to be stopped for him as it was.
HALL AND VOTES
THE BIG offers and lucrative deals will grab the headlines but St Kilda has taken a draft-first approach to its rebuild. And landing the odd smokey pick will be part of the plan.
Max Hall is looking every bit of that.
Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera had 43 disposals and 1004 metres gained against Hawthorn but Hall's game was ranked higher on AFL Player Ratings, with his 31 rating the fifth highest by a Saint on record.
Champion Data showed the depth of the performance, with Hall's game rated the highest by any Saint in their first 120 games (Hall was in just his 16th). It was also the fifth highest of any player in their first 20 games since Player Ratings begun in 2010.
Hall also broke new ground as the first Saints player on record since 1999 to have a game of 25 or more disposals, 10 or more contested possessions, three or more score assists and three or more goals.
Hall's form as a midfielder/forward has been brilliant across the past six weeks but he picked the Hawks – where he had played with Box Hill in the VFL before being selected by the Saints at the mid-season draft last year – to produce the standout game. The Hawks, coincidentally, had the pick after the Saints grabbed Hall at No.4 last year and took tall forward Jasper Scaife.
AFLW REP GAMES IN STORE
MORE representative games for AFLW were part of the possible solutions thrown up at last week's chief executives conference on the Gold Coast to get the best women playing against each other more often.
The League has considered adding an International Rules game between AFLW players and Irish players in the competition, potentially in Gather Round next year, as a showpiece event.
But there was also further discussions at last week's talkfest between club bosses around the need for further representative games, potentially some 'best of' or State of Origin matches to showcase the premier players in the competition against each other more often.
With the competition having quickly grown to 18 teams, the talent spread of the AFLW teams has been stretched, leaving a gap between a team's best players and the rest.
Club chief executives were also stepped through the financial elements of the AFLW competition ahead of the 2025 season, which begins in the middle of August with the Carlton and Collingwood clash.
